Sertoli Cell
Résumé
There is more than a century and a half that the polarized Sertoli cell which extends from the base of the seminiferous tubule to its lumen has been identified as being a “nurse cell” for germ cells. This Sertoli cell nursing function relies on a cytosqueleton displaying all possible properties of plasticity to adapt to the cyclicity of spermatogenesis, a wide range of structural devices including different specialized junctions interconnecting Sertoli cells themselves and the different categories of germ cells its key contribution to the establishment of the blood–testis barrier which is crucial to the formation of the unique microenvironment required for meiosis, the differentiation of post-meiotic haploid germ cells into spermatozoa, as well as for the production of the tubular fluid, the production of peptides, proteins and steroids for paracrine purposes and the secretion the anti-mullerian hormone, inhibin and activin, the two latter hormones controlling the production of the pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone whose receptors are specifically expressed at the surface of the Sertoli cell. The extremely sophisticated dialogue between the Sertoli cell, germ cells, the peritubular myoid cells within the seminiferous tubule, and with the Leydig cells outside the tubule ensures the proper synchronization for spermatozoa to be produced as well as the fine tuning of the hormonal homeostasis on which men’s health relies.