These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptors GFRalpha-1 and GFRalpha-2 in the human testis.
    Author: Davidoff MS, Middendorff R, Koeva Y, Pusch W, Jezek D, Müller D.
    Journal: Ital J Anat Embryol; 2001; 106(2 Suppl 2):173-80. PubMed ID: 11732574.
    Abstract:
    Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptors GFRalpha-1 and GFRalpha-2 were found in the human testis during fetal development (15-34 weeks of gestation) and in adult men (51-86 years of age) by means of RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blot techniques. Gene expression of GDNF could be established in the human testis and immunoreactivity (IR) for GDNF was detectable in Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, some spermatocytes and round spermatids as well as in smooth muscle cells of the wall of arterioles and small arteries. In the adult human testis, Sertoli and Leydig cells showed GFRalpha-1-IR, whereas GFRalpha-2-IR was located exclusively in Leydig cells. Different to man, in the rat GDNF-IR in Sertoli cells was detectable only until postnatal day10, providing evidence for species related variability in the expression of GDNF. These findings suggest a critical role for GDNF during the differentiation of testicular structures and provide evidence for an additional important function in the adult human and rodent testis.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]