Vectorial Production of Interleukin 1 and Interleukin 6 by Rat Sertoli Cells Cultured in a Dual Culture Compartment System

Abstract

The bidirectional production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 by Sertoli cells and its regulation by inflammatory and physiological stimuli has been studied using a dual compartment culture system allowing the study of Sertoli cell apical and basal secretory activities. Another Sertoli cell activity, the vectorial transferrin production was also studied in all culture conditions. A low constitutive IL-1 production appeared equally distributed between both poles, while IL-6 and transferrin constitutive production was predominantly directed apically. Two activators of macrophages, lipopolysaccharides and zymosan, were found to induce marked increases of IL-1 in the compartment where they had been added: basal if added to the lower compartment and vice versa. In contrast, after a basal stimulation, IL-6 production was mainly increased in the upper compartment that corresponds to a Sertoli cell apical flux. In this system, IL-1 and IL-6 levels were not modified by FSH; they were not also affected by residual bodies and latex beads, probably due to the fact that, in the bicameral system, phagocytosis is restricted to the Sertoli cells situated at the surface of the inner compartment. IL-1beta, but not IL-1alpha, induced IL-6 secretion in the compartment of stimulation. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that vectorial secretory patterns of IL-1 and IL-6 production greatly differ and that these cytokines are also differently regulated. These results suggest that Sertoli IL-1 and IL-6 have different targets within the testis and that, in normal and pathophysiological conditions, both the tubular and the interstitial compartments may be influenced by the action of these paracrine factors.

The response of testicular leukocytes to lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation: further evidence for heterogeneity of the testicular macrophage population

“…The "constitutive" expression of this marker of inflammation in all the intratesticular monocyte and macrophage cells capable of responding to LPS, and in the Leydig cells (O'Bryan et al 2000b), and the finding that no further resident macrophages become involved after LPS treatment, suggests that there is an endogenous source of stimulation in the rat testis. Potential candidates are IL-1α, which is secreted by the Sertoli cells into the testicular interstitium (Cudicini et al 1997;Hedger et al 1998), endogenous TNFα production by the germ cells De et al 1993), and interferon-γ, which is produced by several testicular cell types (Dejucq et al 1998). These cytokines have been found either to induce or to enhance iNOS expression in other cell systems (Bukrinsky et al 1995;Kunz et al 1994;Nathan and Xie 1994).…”

The Blood-Testis Barrier and Its Implications for Male Contraception

“…Interleukin-1␣. IL-1␣ is mostly a product of spermatocytes and round spermatocytes in rat testes (Haugen et al, 1994;Lie et al, 2011c), and its production by Sertoli cells is largely dependent on the presence of germ cells (Cudicini et al, 1997;Jonsson et al, 1999;Lie et al, 2011c). Its expression and production in the testis is stage-specific, being highest at stages VIII to IX of the epithelial cycle (Syed et al, 1995;Wahab-Wahlgren et al, 2000) (Table 4).…”

Differential effects of c-Src and c-Yes on the endocytic vesicle-mediated trafficking events at the Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier: an in vitro study

“…Second, we used (26)] served as a negative control. Sertoli cells are known phagocytic cells (10,15,31), serving as scavengers to lyse unwanted or defective germ cells. Thus, when Sertoli cells were exposed to FluoSpheres fluorescent microspheres (an analog representation of apoptotic germ cells) at 35°C, phagocytosis took place, and this process was enhanced and blocked by LPS and BLT-1, respectively (Fig.…”