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). 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.