= Sertoli cell
{c}
A <Sertoli cell> is a supporting somatic <biological cell> within a <seminiferous tubule> of the <testis>. It helps maintain the local environment in which <germ cells> develop through <spermatogenesis>. A <Sertoli cell> supports the sperm-producing lineage; it is not itself a developing <sperm>.
A 2014 experiment tested whether these cells were required only during development or also in the adult. Investigators engineered adult <MICE> so that <Sertoli cells> could be selectively removed after exposure to a toxin. Subsequent examination showed loss of germ-cell populations, while the overall tubular framework persisted. <Leydig cell> numbers also fell substantially. Removing one supporting population thus disrupted both sperm production and another cell population elsewhere in the <testis>.<Sertoli cells maintain Leydig cell number and peritubular myoid cell activity in the adult mouse testis by Diane Rebourcet and others>[Abstract; Results and Figures1,2,6: selective ablation and cell-population changes]{ref}
The interpretation depends on comparing cellular function with gross appearance. A tubule can remain recognizable in a section while losing the cells and interactions needed for normal <spermatogenesis>. The experiment establishes a continuing requirement for <Sertoli cells> in this adult mouse model; it does not show that every affected neighboring cell normally contacts a Sertoli cell directly.
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