Spermatogonial stem cells isolated from adult primate testes produce nerve trunks with dopaminergic characteristics

摘要

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of the adult spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) to differentiate into the dopaminergic lineage. Design: First, a mixture of testicular cells were aggregated to form embryoid bodies and then cultured on the PA6 cells (stromal cell line) in the presence of growth factors. Second, enriched populations of SSCs were sorted by Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 and cultured on the mouse embryonic fibroblasts in the presence of growth factors.Results: In both conditions, structures with the morphology of neural trunks were formed. These trunks were extended and branched in time, which eventually made a network. Immunohistochemical localization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that the trunks were positive for dopamine-specific markers.Conclusions: These results clearly show that SSCs from adult primate testes have the ability to differentiate into neural trunks with dopaminergic characteristics, suggesting that SSCs can be considered as an alternative cell source for cell replacement therapy of Parkinson's disease.