Analysis of genes differentially expressed between rete testis cells and Sertoli cells of the mouse testis

The rete testis (RT) is a region of the mammalian testis which plays an important role in testicular physiology. The RT epithelium consists of cells sharing some well-known gene markers with supporting Sertoli cells (SCs). However, little is known about the differences in gene expression between these two cell populations. Here, we used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to obtain pure cultures of neonatal RT cells and SCs and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between these cell types using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Overall design: Comparison of mRNA profiles of rete testis cells and Sertoli cells obtained from testes of 5-6 dpp mice using FACS and cultured for 3 days. For each cell type, three samples obtained from independently established cell cultures were used in the analysis.

睾丸网（rete testis, RT）是哺乳动物睾丸的一个区域，在睾丸生理活动中发挥关键作用。睾丸网上皮由与支持性塞尔托利细胞（Sertoli cells, SCs）共享若干经典基因标记的细胞组成。然而，目前对于这两种细胞群之间的基因表达差异所知甚少。本研究通过荧光激活细胞分选（fluorescence-activated cell sorting, FACS）分离得到新生小鼠的睾丸网细胞与支持性塞尔托利细胞的纯培养物，并借助RNA测序（RNA-seq）鉴定了这两种细胞类型间的差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEGs）。整体实验设计：对比通过FACS分离自出生后5~6日龄（days post partum, dpp）小鼠睾丸、并经体外培养3天的睾丸网细胞与支持性塞尔托利细胞的mRNA表达谱。针对每种细胞类型，本研究均使用3份独立建立的细胞培养样本开展分析。