2026-05-26 カリフォルニア工科大学（Caltech）
A graphical abstract shows how Long Cai’s seqFISH technology reveals patters of cell progression during sperm production, including the synchronized cycling of germ and Sertoli cells.Credit: Cai Lab / Caltech
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/single-tissue-snapshot-reveals-biological-processes-unfolding-over-time
- https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(26)00471-X
空間トランスクリプトミクスによって明らかになった精細管上皮周期の時間的構造 The temporal architecture of the seminiferous epithelial cycle revealed by spatial transcriptomics
Arun Chakravorty ∙ Jina Yun ∙ Henry Amrhein ∙ … ∙ Benjamin D. Simons ∙ Shosei Yoshida ∙ Long Cai
Cell Published:May 15, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.036
Highlights
- Spatial transcriptomics reconstructs the seminiferous cycle at single-cell resolution
- Sertoli cycling synchronizes with spermatogenesis yet persists without germ cells
- Retinoic acid is a permissive signal required for Sertoli cycle progression
- Integrative model: germ-cell signals (e.g., Wnt) reinforce intrinsic Sertoli cycling
Summary
Spermatogenesis features the seminiferous epithelial cycle, a periodic progression of germ-cell differentiation along the seminiferous tubules. Using seqFISH+ spatial transcriptomics, we profiled 2,653 genes in 867,062 mouse testis cells, revealing tubule-level transcriptional patterns that recapitulate the cycle and enable high-resolution temporal mapping of cells. Unlike other somatic cells, Sertoli cells exhibit a cyclic transcriptional profile synchronized with spermatogenesis. This cyclicity persists in germ-cell-depleted testes (busulfan and W/Wv), although with gene-specific dephasing and reduced amplitude, supporting an intrinsic Sertoli cyclic program. We identify retinoic acid (RA) as a permissive signal: germ-cell-depleted Sertoli cells cycle RA enzymes, while inhibiting RA synthesis via WIN 18,446 arrests them mid-cycle. Ligand-receptor analysis reveals bidirectional germ-Sertoli signaling. Notably, Wnt inhibition with LGK974 partially recapitulates germ-cell-depletion dephasing and amplitude changes. These findings support an integrative model where an intrinsic Sertoli program maintains baseline periodicity, while germ-cell signals refine the cycle to coordinate spermatogenesis.
