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Three-dimensional morphological analysis of spermatogenesis in aged mouse testes
- Source :
- Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021), Scientific Reports
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Nature Portfolio, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Spermatogenesis, which is a continuous process from undifferentiated spermatogonia to spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules, declines with age. To investigate changes in spermatogenesis with aging, we reconstructed the seminiferous tubules of 12 mice aged 12 to 30 months from serial sections and examined age-related and region-specific alterations in the seminiferous epithelium and spermatogenic waves in three dimensions. The basic structure of the seminiferous tubules, including the numbers of tubules, terminating points, branching points, and total tubule length, did not change with age. Age-related alterations in spermatogenesis, primarily assessed by the formation of vacuoles in Sertoli cells, were detected in the seminiferous tubules at 12 months. The proportion of altered tubule segments with impaired spermatogenesis further increased by 24 months, but remained unchanged thereafter. Altered tubule segments were preferentially distributed in tubule areas close to the rete testis and those in the center of the testis. Spermatogenic waves became shorter in length with age. These results provide a basis for examining the decline of spermatogenesis not only with aging, but also in male infertility.
- Subjects :
- Male
Aging
Urology
Science
Vacuole
Biology
Article
Male infertility
Andrology
Mice
Rete testis
Testis
medicine
Animals
Spermatogenesis
Multidisciplinary
Seminiferous Tubules
Sertoli cell
medicine.disease
Epithelium
Spermatogonia
Mice, Inbred C57BL
medicine.anatomical_structure
Tubule
Seminiferous Epithelium
Morphological analysis
Medicine
Anatomy
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20452322
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....085c6a6e075b23ec3c86daa1704dc3b7