Abstract
It is unclear whether the distinct nuclear morphologies of human A(dark) (Ad) and A(pale) (Ap) spermatogonia are manifestations of different stages of germ cell development or phases of the mitotic cycle, or whether they may reflect still unknown molecular differences. According to the classical description by Clermont, human dark type A spermatogonium (Ad) may contain one, sometimes two or three nuclear 'vacuolar spaces' representing chromatin rarefaction zones. These structures were readily discerned in paraffin sections of human testis tissue during immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses and thus represented robust morphological markers for our study. While a majority of the marker proteins tested did not discriminate between spermatogonia with and without chromatin rarefaction zones, doublesex- and mab-3-related transcription factor (DMRT1), tyrosine kinase receptor c-Kit/CD117 (KIT) and proliferation-associated antigen Ki-67 (KI-67) appeared to be restricted to subtypes which lacked the rarefaction zones. Conversely, exosome component 10 (EXOSC10) was found to accumulate within the rarefaction zones, which points to a possible role of this nuclear domain in RNA processing.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Biomarkers / metabolism
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Cell Differentiation
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Cell Nucleus / metabolism
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Cell Nucleus / ultrastructure
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Chromatin / metabolism
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Chromatin / ultrastructure
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DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
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Exoribonucleases / metabolism
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Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex / metabolism
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Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors / metabolism
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Humans
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Immunohistochemistry
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Ki-67 Antigen / metabolism
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Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / metabolism
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Male
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Microscopy, Confocal
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Microscopy, Fluorescence
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Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
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Promyelocytic Leukemia Zinc Finger Protein
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / metabolism
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Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3 / metabolism
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Spermatogenesis
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Spermatogonia / classification
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Spermatogonia / cytology*
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Spermatogonia / metabolism*
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Trans-Activators / metabolism
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Transcription Factors / metabolism
Substances
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Biomarkers
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Chromatin
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DMRT1 protein
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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GFRA1 protein, human
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Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors
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Ki-67 Antigen
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Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors
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Nuclear Proteins
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PHF13 protein, human
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Promyelocytic Leukemia Zinc Finger Protein
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Trans-Activators
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Transcription Factors
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UTF1 protein, human
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ZBTB16 protein, human
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FGFR3 protein, human
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
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Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3
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Exoribonucleases
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Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex
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EXOSC10 protein, human