Aspermatogonium (pl.: spermatogonia) is an undifferentiated male germ cell. Spermatogonia undergo spermatogenesis to form mature spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules of the testis.
| Spermatogonium [1] | |
|---|---|
Germinal epithelium of the testicle. 1 basal lamina, 2 spermatogonia, 3 spermatocyte 1st order, 4 spermatocyte 2nd order, 5 spermatid, 6 mature spermatid, 7 Sertoli cell, 8 tight junction (blood testis barrier)
| |
Histological section through testicular parenchyma of a boar. 1 Lumen of Tubulus seminiferus contortus, 2 spermatids, 3 spermatocytes, 4 spermatogonia, 5 Sertoli cell, 6 myofibroblasts, 7 Leydig cells, 8 capillaries
| |
| Identifiers | |
| MeSH | D013093 |
| FMA | 72291 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
There are three subtypes of spermatogonia in humans:
Anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin and vincristine can adversely affect male fertility by damaging the DNA of proliferative spermatogonial stem cells. Experimental exposure of rat undifferentiated spermatogonia to doxorubicin and vincristine indicated that these cells are able to respond to DNA damage by increasing their expression of DNA repair genes, and that this response likely partially prevents DNA break accumulation.[2] In addition to a DNA repair response, exposure of spermatogonia to doxorubicin can also induce programmed cell death (apoptosis).[3]
 | This cell biology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |