ULTRASTRUCTURE OF ADULT AND JUVENILE MARMOSET (CALLITHRIX-JACCHUS) SERTOLI CELLS INVIVO AND INVITRO

The morphologic differentiation of Sertoli cells isolated from adult and juvenile marmosets and cultured on different extracellular matrices was evaluated by light and electron microscopy and compared to cells in vivo. Both cell types could be maintained in culture for at least 6 days. The degree of cellular differentiation, shape, ultrastructural appearance, and polarity seemed to benefit from laminin-coated substrata, compared with collagen-, fibronectin-, serum-, and heparan sulfate-coated substrata. With the former two substrates, a difference in behavior between juvenile and adult cells was evident. Whereas juvenile cells displayed a lesser degree of differentiation, adult cells exhibited identical morphologic characteristics in culture and in vivo. Cyclicity of morphologic features was not found, neither in vivo nor in vitro. The results indicate that: (1) laminin plays a unique role for marmoset Sertoli cell differentiation in vitro compared with other extracellular components; (2) a greater similarity between cells in vivo and in vitro is evident with adult Sertoli cells; and (3) the adult marmoset monkey could provide a primate model for mature Sertoli cells in culture, since there is a close similarity to human adult Sertoli cells in vitro and in vivo.