Stage and season effects on cell cycle and apoptotic activities of germ cells and Sertoli cells during spermatogenesis in the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

To understand the processes involved in the spatial and temporal maturation of testicular cells in Squalus acanthias, we used standard morphometry, proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) immunohistochemistry. Except for immature spermatocysts (germinal zone, GZ; early-stage premeiotic, E-PrM), the number of cysts in all subsequent stages and the total number of cysts in the spermatogenic progression varied seasonally. The spermatogenic cycle spans about 2 years and is interrupted by germcell clone deletion via apoptosis at the mitosis-meiosis transition in April/May, manifesting as a zone of degeneration (ZD). Rate of displacement of the ZD across the testis diameter indicates that late-stage premeiotic (L-PrM) generations 12-13 require 9-10 months to reach the mature-spermatid stage. Also, the number of cysts completing spermatogenesis is approximately 4-5-fold less than the number that entered spermatogenesis proper 2 years earlier. Pronounced gonocytogenesis in the germinal ridge was coincident with ZD formation in April/May, but it was absent in the fall when mature spermatogonial and meiotic activities had resumed. Whereas strong Sertoli cell PCNA immunoreactivity dominated the GZ cyst cell-cycle activities throughout the year, except during the spring/summer months, the spermatogonial- and Sertoli-cell PCNA indices in E-PrM cysts were inversely related. PCNA immunoreactivity in spermatocytes was seasonal and dependent on the stage of meiosis. TUNEL labelling was limited to spermatogonia and increased stage-dependently in the PrM region (L-PrM = mid-stage PrM much greater than E-PrM much greater than GZ), correlating with ZD formation, in a season-dependent manner. Results imply that effects of normal regulatory factors in Squalus are stage- and process-specific.