LEYDIG CELLS
 Most functional cells in the interstitium
 Synthesize and secrete male sex steroids called
androgens
 Testosterone – most abundant androgen released
by Leydig cells
 Exist in small clusters of cells
 15-20 um in diameter
 Central round nucleus with peripheral
heterochromatin and one or more prominent
nucleoli
 Cytoplasm:
- well-developed Golgi Apparatus close to the
nucleus which helps elaborate an abundance
of SER, which contains the enzymes for
testosterone synthesis
- also contains lysosomes, peroxisomes, and
conspicuous crystals of Reinke; function is
unknown
 Interstitial tissue contains numerous small
lymphatic vessels and abundant interstitial fluid
 The testosterone produced by the leydig cells
enters the interstitial fluid
 Androgens enter the systemic circulation through
the interstitial fenestrated capillaries near leydig
cells
SERTOLI CELLS
o Basically columnar resting upon the basal lamina
and extending upward through the full thickness of
the epithelium to its free surface
o Thin processes radiate laterally to surround the
spermatogenic cells and occupy the interstices
among them
o Nucleus is ovoid about 9 x 12 um and has large
nucleolus
o Cytoplasm:
 numerous slender mitochondria often oriented
parallel along the long axis of the cell
 lipid droplets
 occasional lipofuscin pigment granules
 sparse RER
 well-developed SER (for secretion and
modification of steroid hormones)
Crystalloids of Charcot-Bottcher
- inclusions peculiar to human sertoli cells
- slender, fusiform structures10 to 25 um long
Functions:
 trophic function in spermatogenesis
 Help phagocytose and destroy cells that die during
spermatogenesis and residual bodies shed by
spermatids during spermiogenesis
 Secrete fluids that create a hospitable environment
for spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules
 FSH and testosterone stimulate sertoli cells to
secrete androgen binding protein
 very high concentrations of testosterone are
required to support the spermatogenic cycle of
the seminiferous epithelium
 Androgen binding protein concentrates
tstosterone in the microenvironment of the
semiferous epthelium
 Sertoli cells also secrete the protein inhibin, which
provides feedback that helps inhibit FSH production
by adenohypophysial gonadotropes either by directly
affecting the hormone producing gonadotropes or
by affecting the secretion of hypothalamic GnRH