How Do You Get Six Meters of Epididymis Inside a Human Scrotum?
How Do You Get Six Meters of Epididymis Inside a Human Scrotum?
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DOI：
10.2164/jandrol.111.013029
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发表时间：
2011-11-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Yang, Ling
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Hinton, Barry T.;Galdamez, Maureen M.;Yang, Ling
很明显，附睾在精子的成熟过程中起着至关重要的作用，如果没有一个完全发育和功能正常的附睾，就会导致男性不育。我们特别感兴趣的是了解调节这一重要器官发育的机制，因为发育异常也会导致附睾功能紊乱。对于附睾发育的过程或导致男性不育的先天性缺陷的性质和原因知之甚少。Wolffian/附睾管胚胎发育过程中的一个主要事件是伸长和卷曲，这篇简短的综述概述了这些事件发生的潜在机制。据推测，延伸是细胞增殖与定向细胞重排相结合的结果，后者由平面细胞极性信号传导途径调节。卷曲以近端到远端的方式进行，小鼠的三维卷曲大约在胚胎第16.5至18.5天开始。卷曲的确切机制尚不清楚，但我们假设它涉及沃尔夫管上皮和周围间充质细胞之间的相互作用，使得细胞外基质重塑以允许导管卷曲和生长。在Wolffian管中的细胞增殖似乎依赖于胚胎发育过程中雄激素和间充质因子的存在，但光分泌因子在出生后发育过程中发挥额外的作用。
It is very clear that the epididymis plays a crucial role in the maturation of spermatozoa, and without a fully developed and functional epididymis, male infertility will result. We are especially interested in understanding the mechanisms that regulate the development of this important organ because disruptions to epididymal function will also arise as a consequence of abnormal development. Very little is known either of the process of epididymal development or the nature and causes of congenital defects that lead to male infertility. A major event during Wolffian/epididymal duct embryonic development is elongation and coiling and this short review outlines potential mechanisms by which these events occur. It is hypothesized that elongation is the result of cell proliferation coupled with directed cell rearrangements, the later regulated by the planar cell polarity signaling pathway. Coiling proceeds in a proximal to distal manner, with three-dimensional coiling beginning approximately embryonic day 16.5 to 18.5 in the mouse. The exact mechanisms of coiling are not known but we hypothesize that it involves an interaction between the Wolffian duct epithelium and the surrounding mesenchyme cells, such that the extracellular matrix is remodeled to allow coiling and growth of the duct. Cell proliferation in the Wolffian duct appears to be dependent on the presence of androgens and mesenchymal factors during embryonic development, but lumicrine factors play an additional role during postnatal development.