Stage-Specific Expression of Genes Associated with Rat Spermatogenesis: Characterization by Laser-Capture Microdissection and Real-Time Polymerase

Spermatogenesis in the rat consists of 14 unique morphologic cellular associations between Sertoli cells and developing germ cells within the seminiferous epithelium. The complexity of the cellular associations leads to difficulty in the isolation of indi-vidual cells at a defined stage of development for the study of their unique patterns of gene or protein expression. Thus, laser-capture microdissection is an ideal technique to permit such analysis. This study used laser-capture microdissection and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantitate the stage-specific expression of a series of genes of functional significance in hormonal regulation and cell-cell interactions in spermatogenesis, including cathepsin-L, CREM-t, transition protein-1, androgen receptor, b1-integrin, N-cadher-in, and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). Froze