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Promoting Effects of Epidermal Growth Factor and Prostaglandin E1 on the Proliferation of Mouse Spermatogonia
Kai-Ming Wang, Da-Lei Zhang*, Yu-Ling Mi, Wei-Dong Zeng, Cai-Qiao Zhang**
College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
Abstract: A serum-free germ-somatic cell coculture model was established to evaluate the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on the proliferation of mouse type A spermatogonia. Immunocytochemical stains for c-kit， EGF， EGF receptor (EGFR)， cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were performed after culture for 24 h and the cell proliferation was assessed after culture for 72 h. The results showed that type A spermatogonia were c-kit positive; EGF， EGFR， COX-1 and COX-2 were mainly expressed in spermatogonia; EGF (10-7-10-6 mol/L) or PGE1 (10-8-10-6 mol/L) treatment significantly increased spermatogonial colony number and area. Furthermore， the promoting effect of EGF on spermatogonia proliferation was diminished by COX-1/COX-2 inhibition， while the effect of PGE1 was blocked by PG receptor inhibition. The above results suggest that EGF may promote local PGE1 production to enhance the proliferation of spermatogonia.
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