Associations of Bovine Fetal Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells and Germ Cell Marker Expression in Testicular Organoids

Abstract

Simple Summary Testicular organoids (TOs) are small, three-dimensional laboratory models that mimic the structure and functions of the testis. In this study, we investigated whether mesenchymal stem/stromal cells obtained from fetal bovine adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) were associated with the presence of germ cell (GC)-specific markers in TOs. TOs were composed of testicular cells (Leydig, Sertoli, and peritubular myoid cells) and fluorescently labeled AT-MSCs and treated with retinoic acid and different concentrations of testosterone for 21 days. We found that treatment with retinoic acid combined with moderate concentrations of testosterone helped maintain TO size and increased the association of AT-MSCs with markers of GCs. Overall, the combination of retinoic acid and testosterone influenced the location and timing of GC marker expression in TOs.