Table 1.
Laminin subunits and their cellular association/expression of adult mammalian testes
| Testicular cell types |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laminin subunits | Site of expression in the testis | SC | GC | Method of detection | References |
| α1 | BM of seminiferous tubules | + | − | IF, RT-PCR | (79,108–111) |
| α2 | BM of seminiferous tubules and microvessels in the interstitin | + | + | IF, RT-PCR | (79,108–111) |
| α3 | Apical ES | − | + | Immunogold EM, RT-PCR, IB | (79) |
| α4 | Seminiferous tubules | n.d. | n.d. | RT-PCR, IF, Northerns | (79,109–111) |
| α5 | Seminiferous tubules | n.d. | n.d. | IHC, RT-PCR, IF | (79,110–111) |
| β1 | Seminiferous tubules | + | + | IF, RT-PCR | (79) |
| β2 | Seminiferous tubules | + | + | IF, RT-PCR | (79,111) |
| β3 | Apical ES | − | + | IB, Co-IP | (79,111) |
| γ1 | Seminiferous tubules | + | − | IF, RT-PCR | (79,111) |
| γ2 | Seminiferous tubules | n.d | n.d. | RT-PCR, IF | (79,111,112) |
| γ3 | Apical ES of rat testes | + | + | RT-PCR, IF, IB, Immunogold EM | (55,56,79) |
BM, Basement membrane; IF, Immunofluorescent microscopy; IB, immunoblot; IHC, immunohistochemistry; EM, electron microscopy; Co-IP, co-immunoprecipitation; SC, Sertoli cells; GC, germ cells; RT-PCR, reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or real-time PCR. n.d., not determined.