Analysis of genes differentially expressed between rete testis cells and Sertoli cells of the mouse testis. 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，在睾丸生理过程中发挥重要作用。RT上皮由与支持细胞（Sertoli cells，SCs）共享若干经典基因标志物的细胞构成。然而，目前对这两种细胞群之间的基因表达差异仍知之甚少。本研究采用荧光激活细胞分选（fluorescence-activated cell sorting，FACS）分离获得新生小鼠睾丸网细胞与支持细胞的纯培养体系，并通过RNA测序（RNA-seq）鉴定了这两类细胞间的差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes，DEGs）。整体实验设计：对比通过FACS分离、体外培养3天的5-6日龄（days post partum，dpp）小鼠睾丸来源的睾丸网细胞与支持细胞的mRNA表达谱。每种细胞类型均设置3份独立建立的细胞培养样本用于实验分析。