Seminiferous tubule fluid secretion is a Sertoli cell microtubule-dependent process inhibited by 2,5-hexanedione exposure.

Mammalian Sertoli cells are responsible for the formation and secretion of seminiferous tubule fluid (STF) which provides the nutritional and hormonal microenvironment necessary for spermatogenesis. Exposure of rats to 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD) results in testicular injury characterized by a decrease of STF secretion which immediately precedes bulk germ cell necrosis. The earliest biochemical change in 2,5-HD-exposed rats is an alteration in testicular microtubule assembly kinetics. In this study, we investigate the relationship between microtubule-dependent processes and STF secretion in adult Sprague-Dawley CD rats by exposing seminiferous tubules to two types of toxicants: (1) those which alter microtubules (colchicine and 2,5-HD) and (2) an inhibitor of protein secretion (brefeldin A, [BFA]). Secretion of STF is quantitated by monitoring the rate of transport of a microinjected oil droplet in the lumen of isolated seminiferous tubules using time-lapse stereoscopic microscopy. The rate of oil droplet transport in seminiferous tubules isolated from testis pretreated in vivo for 2 hr with colchicine (40 micrograms/testis) was significantly decreased. Exposure of isolated seminiferous tubules to BFA (10 micrograms/ml) for 40 min also significantly decreased the transport of lumenal oil droplets. Exposure of rats to 1%, 2,5-HD in drinking water decreased transport of injected oil droplets in seminiferous tubules beginning at 3 weeks of exposure in the absence of significant alterations in testicular morphology. These data demonstrate that normal STF secretion requires an intact, microtubule-dependent intracellular membrane transport pathway and strengthen the association between 2,5-HD-induced disruption of Sertoli cell STF secretion and 2,5-HD-induced alterations in Sertoli cell microtubules.