Table Of ContentJon M. Oatley · Michael D. Griswold
Editors
The Biology of
Mammalian
Spermatogonia
The Biology of Mammalian Spermatogonia
Jon M. Oatley • Michael D. Griswold
Editors
The Biology
of Mammalian
Spermatogonia
Editors
Jon M. Oatley Michael D. Griswold
Centre for Reproductive Biology School of Molecular Biosciences
School of Molecular Biosciences Washington State University
Washington State University Pullman, WA, USA
Pullman, WA, USA
ISBN 978-1-4939-7503-7 ISBN 978-1-4939-7505-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7505-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958850
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Preface
Spermatogenesis is a complex and highly efficient process producing millions of
terminally differentiated and specialized sperm every day in males of most mam-
malian species. Indeed, the average man generates roughly 1300 sperm with every
heartbeat, and this level of production is required for fertility. At the foundation of
spermatogenesis are the actions of an undifferentiated spermatogonial population
that consists of spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) and transit amplifying progenitor
pools. Self-renewing divisions of SSCs maintain a reservoir from which progenitor
spermatogonia arise that transiently amplify in number before transitioning from
the undifferentiated type A to differentiating type A1 state under the influence of a
retinoic acid pulse. This transition kick-starts a round of spermatogenesis and the
differentiating spermatogonia gain competence for meiotic initiation. Not only are
these behaviors essential for spermatogenesis during homeostatic conditions but
also during regeneration of the spermatogenic lineage following cytotoxic insult or
transplantation.
The previous two decades has seen an explosion of new information about the
general biology of spermatogonia in mammals and development of methods to iso-
late, culture, genetically modify, and transplant SSCs. Mammalian spermatogonia
have garnered the interest of researchers in the fields of developmental and germ
cell biology for decades because the end product of their activities is sperm that are
the conduit for transmission of a male’s genetic information across generations and
SSCs possess the capacity to regenerate the spermatogenic lineage. These attributes
hold great potential for exploitation to engineer the genetics of the germline directly
which has applications in both improving human health and enhancing the effi-
ciency of animal agriculture.
In this book, we aim to provide a resource of current understandings about vari-
ous aspects of the biology of spermatogonia in mammals. Considering that covering
the entire gamut of all things spermatogonia is a difficult task, specific topics were
selected that we believe provide foundational information that will be useful for
seasoned researchers in the field of germ cell biology as well as investigators enter-
ing the area.
Looking to the future, we predict that the foundational information provided in
this book combined with the advent of new tools and budding interests in the use of
non-rodent mammalian models will produce another major advance in knowledge
regarding the biology of spermatogonia over the next decade. In particular, we
v
vi Preface
anticipate that the core molecular machinery driving different spermatogonial states
in most, if not all, mammals will be described fully, the extrinsic signals emanating
from somatic support cell populations to influence spermatogonial functions will
become fully known, and the capacity to derive long-term cultures of SSCs and
transplant the population to regenerate spermatogenesis and fertility will become a
reality for higher order mammals.
We would like to thank Portia Wong and Dana Bigelow and their staff at Springer
Nature publishing for the patience and assistance in bringing this book to comple-
tion. Also, we would like to express sincere gratitude to all contributors of chapters
in this book for sharing their expertise and insights with the research community.
Pullman, WA, USA Jon M. Oatley
Michael D. Griswold
Contents
Part I Spermatogenesis in Mammals
1 Organization of the Seminiferous Epithelium and the Cycle,
and Morphometric Description of Spermatogonial Subtypes
(Rodents and Primates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Dirk G. de Rooij
Part II Postnatal Development of the Spermatogonial Population
2 Transition of Prenatal Prospermatogonia
to Postnatal Spermatogonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
John R. McCarrey
3 Setting the Stage: The First Round of Spermatogenesis . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Christopher B. Geyer
Part III Spermatogonial Stem Cells
4 Defining the Phenotype and Function of Mammalian
Spermatogonial Stem Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Kazadi N. Mutoji and Brian P. Hermann
5 Regulation of Spermatogonial Stem Cell Maintenance
and Self-Renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Tessa Lord and Jon M. Oatley
Part IV Spermatogonial Differentiation
6 Role of Retinoic Acid Signaling in the Differentiation
of Spermatogonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
My-Thanh Beedle, Cathryn A. Hogarth, and Michael D. Griswold
7 Gonadotropin and Steroid Hormone Control of Spermatogonial
Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Rod T. Mitchell, Laura O’Hara, and Lee B. Smith
vii
viii Contents
Part V Genome Integrity of Spermatogonia
8 Frequency of Human Disease Mutations and Spermatogonial
Stem Cell Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Norman Arnheim and Peter Calabrese
9 The Spermatogonial Stem Cell and the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Tegan S.A. Horan, Caroline V. Sartain, and Patricia A. Hunt
10 Testicular Germ Cell Tumors and Teratomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Denise G. Lanza and Jason D. Heaney
Part VI Tools to Study Spermatogonial Biology
11 Transplantation and Culture of Spermatogonial Stem Cells . . . . . . . 271
Hiroshi Kubota and Ralph L. Brinster
12 I n Vitro Differentiation of Spermatogonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Takehiko Ogawa
Part VII Therapeutic Potentials and Applications of Spermatogonia
13 F ertility Preservation in Cancer Patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Sherin David and Kyle E. Orwig
14 Application of Spermatogonial Transplantation
in Agricultural Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Raquel González, Lin Tang, and Ina Dobrinski
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Contributors
Norman Arnheim Molecular and Computational Biology Program, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
My-Thanh Beedle School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA, USA
Ralph L. Brinster Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary
Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Peter Calabrese Molecular and Computational Biology Program, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sherin David Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences,
Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA,
USA
Ina Dobrinski Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Christopher B. Geyer Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Brody
School of Medicine and East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute, East Carolina
University, Greenville, NC, USA
Michael D. Griswold School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
Raquel González Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental
Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB,
Canada
Jason D. Heaney Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Center for
Reproductive Medicine, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine,
Houston, TX, USA
Brian P. Hermann Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San
Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
ix
x Contributors
Cathryn A. Hogarth School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
Tegan S.A. Horan School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA, USA
Patricia A. Hunt School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA, USA
Hiroshi Kubota Department of Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine,
Kitasato University, Aomori, Japan
Denise G. Lanza Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Center for
Reproductive Medicine, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine,
Houston, TX, USA
Tessa Lord Centre for Reproductive Biology, School of Molecular Biosciences,
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
John R. McCarrey Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio,
San Antonio, TX, USA
Rod T. Mitchell MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, The Queen’s Medical
Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Kazadi N. Mutoji Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio,
San Antonio, TX, USA
Jon M. Oatley Centre for Reproductive Biology, School of Molecular Biosciences,
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Takehiko Ogawa Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical and Regenerative Sciences,
Institute of Molecular Medicine and Life Science, Yokohama City University,
Yokohama, Japan
Laura O’Hara MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, The Queen’s Medical
Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Kyle E. Orwig Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences,
Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA,
USA
Dirk G. de Rooij Reproductive Biology Group, Division of Developmental
Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht,
The Netherlands
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Caroline V. Sartain School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
