美国犹他大学Bradley R. Cairns等研究人员合作利用单细胞测序解析人类睾丸的发育过程。相关论文于2021年1月15日在线发表在《细胞—干细胞》杂志上。

研究人员表示，人类睾丸的发育涉及种系和体细胞身份的复杂变化。

为了更好地理解，研究人员对来自胚胎、胎儿和婴儿阶段睾丸细胞的约32,500个单细胞转录组进行了分析。数据显示，在受精后6-7周，随着睾丸线的建立，Sertoli和间质细胞起源于一个共同的异质祖细胞，然后汇集成胎儿Sertoli细胞（表达成管基因）或间质细胞（包括表达类固醇生成基因的Leydig谱系细胞）。从受精后14–16周开始，男性原始生殖细胞退出有丝分裂，下调多能转录因子，并转变成与最初在婴儿和成人睾丸中定义的精原细胞状态0非常相似的细胞。因此，研究人员称这些胎儿精原细胞为“状态f0”。

总体而言，这项工作揭示了对胚胎、胎儿和产后雄性生殖系以及躯体微环境发育的多种见解。

附：英文原文

Title: Single-cell analysis of the developing human testis reveals somatic niche cell specification and fetal germline stem cell establishment

Author: Jingtao Guo, Enrique Sosa, Tsotne Chitiashvili, Xichen Nie, Ernesto Javier Rojas, Elizabeth Oliver, Kathrin Plath, James M. Hotaling, Jan-Bernd Stukenborg, Amander T. Clark, Bradley R. Cairns

Issue&Volume: 2021-01-15

Abstract: Human testis development in prenatal life involves complex changes in germline andsomatic cell identity. To better understand, we profiled and analyzed ～32,500 single-celltranscriptomes of testicular cells from embryonic, fetal, and infant stages. Our datashow that at 6–7 weeks postfertilization, as the testicular cords are established,the Sertoli and interstitial cells originate from a common heterogeneous progenitorpool, which then resolves into fetal Sertoli cells (expressing tube-forming genes)or interstitial cells (including Leydig-lineage cells expressing steroidogenesis genes).Almost 10 weeks later, beginning at 14–16 weeks postfertilization, the male primordialgerm cells exit mitosis, downregulate pluripotent transcription factors, and transitioninto cells that strongly resemble the state 0 spermatogonia originally defined inthe infant and adult testes. Therefore, we called these fetal spermatogonia “statef0.” Overall, we reveal multiple insights into the coordinated and temporal developmentof the embryonic, fetal, and postnatal male germline together with the somatic niche.

DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2020.12.004

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(20)30588-9