Notch signaling components have long been detected in Sertoli and germ cells in the developing and mature testis. However, the role of this pathway in testis development and spermatogenesis remains unknown. Using reporter mice expressing green fluorescent protein following Notch receptor activation, we found that Notch signaling was active in Sertoli cells at various fetal, neonatal, and adult stages. Since Notch signaling specifies stem cell fate in many developing and mature organ systems, we hypothesized that maintenance and differentiation of gonocytes and/or spermatogonial stem cells would be modulated through this pathway in Sertoli cells. To this end, we generated mutant mice constitutively expressing the active, intracellular domain of NOTCH1 (NICD1) in Sertoli cells. We found that mutant Sertoli cells were morphologically normal before and after birth, but presented a number of functional changes that drastically affected gonocyte numbers and physiology. We observed aberrant exit of gonocytes from mitotic arrest, migration toward cord periphery, and premature differentiation before birth. These events, presumably unsupported by the cellular microenvironment, were followed by gonocyte apoptosis and near complete disappearance of the gonocytes by day 2 after birth. Molecular analysis demonstrated that these effects are correlated with a dysregulation of Sertoli-expressed genes that are required for germ cell maintenance, such as Cyp26b1 and Gdnf. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Notch signaling is active in Sertoli cells throughout development and that proper regulation of Notch signaling in Sertoli cells is required for the maintenance of gonocytes in an undifferentiated state during fetal development.

Stem cells are influenced by their surrounding microenvironment, or niche. In the testis, Sertoli cells are the key niche cells directing the population size and differentiation fate of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Failure to properly regulate SSCs leads to infertility or germ cell hyperplasia. Several Sertoli cell-expressed genes, such as Gdnf and Cyp26b1, have been identified as being indispensable for the proper maintenance of SSCs in their niche, but the pathways that modulate their expression have not been identified. Although we have recently found that constitutively activating NOTCH signaling in Sertoli cells leads to premature differentiation of all prospermatogonia and sterility, suggesting that there is a crucial role for this pathway in the testis stem cell niche, a true physiological function of NOTCH signaling in Sertoli cells has not been demonstrated. To this end, we conditionally ablated recombination signal binding protein for immunoglobulin kappa J region (Rbpj), a crucial mediator of NOTCH signaling, in Sertoli cells using Amh-cre. Rbpj knockout mice had: significantly increased testis sizes; increased expression of niche factors, such as Gdnf and Cyp26b1; significant increases in the number of pre-and post-meiotic germ cells, including SSCs; and, in a significant proportion of mice, testicular failure and atrophy with tubule lithiasis, possibly due to these unsustainable increases in the number of germ cells. We also identified germ cells as the NOTCH ligand-expressing cells. We conclude that NOTCH signaling in Sertoli cells is required for proper regulation of the testis stem cell niche and is a potential feedback mechanism, based on germ cell input, that governs the expression of factors that control SSC proliferation and differentiation.

The calcium channel gamma subunits comprise an eight-member protein family that share a common topology consisting of four transmembrane domains and intracellular N- and C-termini. Although the first gamma subunit was identified as an auxiliary subunit of a voltage-dependent calcium channel, a review of phylogenetic, bioinformatic, and functional studies indicates that they are a functionally diverse protein family. A cluster containing gamma1 and gamma6 conforms to the original description of the protein family as they seem to act primarily as subunits of calcium channels expressed in muscle. Members of a second cluster (gamma2, gamma3, gamma4, gamma8) function as regulators of AMPA receptor localization and function in the brain and are collectively known as TARPs. The function of members of the third cluster (gamma5, gamma7) remains unclear. Our analysis shows that the members of each cluster contain conserved regulatory motifs that help to differentiate the groups. However, the physiological significance of these motifs in many cases remains to be demonstrated.

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More than 1000 genes are predicted to be predominantly expressed in mouse testis, yet many of them remain unstudied in terms of their roles in spermatogenesis and sperm function and their essentiality in male reproduction. Since individually indispensable factors can provide important implications for the diagnosis of genetically related idiopathic male infertility and may serve as candidate targets for the development of nonhormonal male contraceptives, our laboratories continuously analyze the functions of testis-enriched genes in vivo by generating knockout mouse lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The dispensability of genes in male reproduction is easily determined by examining the fecundity of knockout males. During our large-scale screening of essential factors, we knocked out 30 genes that have a strong bias of expression in the testis and are mostly conserved in mammalian species including human. Fertility tests reveal that the mutant males exhibited normal fecundity, suggesting these genes are individually dispensable for male reproduction. Since such functionally redundant genes are of diminished biological and clinical significance, we believe that it is crucial to disseminate this list of genes, along with their phenotypic information, to the scientific community to avoid unnecessary expenditure of time and research funds and duplication of efforts by other laboratories.

Cellular adhesion is a key ingredient to sustain collective functions of microbial aggregates. Here, we investigate the evolutionary origins of adhesion and the emergence of groups of genealogically unrelated cells with a game-theoretical model. The considered adhesiveness trait is costly, continuous and affects both group formation and group-derived benefits. The formalism of adaptive dynamics reveals two evolutionary stable strategies, at each extreme on the axis of adhesiveness. We show that cohesive groups can evolve by small mutational steps, provided the population is already endowed with a minimum adhesiveness level. Assortment between more adhesive types, and in particular differential propensities to leave a fraction of individuals ungrouped at the end of the aggregation process, can compensate for the cost of increased adhesiveness. We also discuss the change in the social nature of more adhesive mutations along evolutionary trajectories, and find that altruism arises before directly beneficial behavior, despite being the most challenging form of cooperation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08595.001

In the seminiferous epithelium of the testis, Sertoli cells are key niche cells directing proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) into spermatozoa. Sertoli cells produce glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), which is essential for SSC self-renewal and progenitor expansion. While the role of GDNF in the testis stem cell niche is established, little is known about how this factor is regulated. Our previous studies on NOTCH activity in Sertoli cells demonstrated a role of this pathway in limiting stem/progenitor cell numbers, thus ultimately downregulating sperm cell output. In this study we demonstrate through a double-mutant mouse model that NOTCH signaling in Sertoli cells functions solely through the canonical pathway. Further, we demonstrate through Dual luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative polymerase chain reaction (ChIP-qPCR) analysis that the NOTCH targets HES1 and HEY1, which are transcriptional repressors, directly downregulate GDNF expression by binding to the Gdnf promoter, thus antagonizing the effects of FSH/cAMP. Finally, we demonstrate that testicular stem/progenitors cells are activating NOTCH signaling in Sertoli cells in vivo and in vitro through the NOTCH ligand JAG1 at their surface, indicating that these cells may ensure their own homeostasis through negative feedback regulation.

The aim of this study was to determine whether short-term, in vivo exposure to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) could be toxic to male reproduction. Low dose (1 mg/kg/dose) AgNPs were intravenously injected into male CD1 mice over 12 days. Treatment resulted in no changes in body and testis weights, sperm concentration and motility, fertility indices, or follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone serum concentrations; however, serum and intratesticular testosterone concentrations were significantly increased 15 days after initial treatment. Histologic evaluation revealed significant changes in epithelium morphology, germ cell apoptosis, and Leydig cell size. Additionally, gene expression analysis revealed Cyp11a1 and Hsd3b1 mRNA significantly upregulated in treated animals. These data suggest that AgNPs do not impair spermatogonial stem cells in vivo since treatment did not result in significant decreases in testis weight and sperm concentrations. However, AgNPs appear to affect Leydig cell function, yielding increasing testicular and serum testosterone levels.