Interstitial cells (Leydig):


The interstitial cells (Leydig) probably have their origin in the mesonephros and develop outside the testicular cord in the testes. From the 7th week they secrete increasing amounts of testosterone. The maximum is attained in the course of the second trimester, when the final differentiation in the direction of the male phenotype takes place.

The supporting cells (Sertoli) are located within the seminiferous tubules. Their task is the creation of a hemato-testicular barrier and the nourishment of the spermatozoa. They can only proliferate in the first year of life (their equivalent in the woman are the follicular cells). Sertoli cells are Christmas-tree-shaped and sit on a basal membrane. Each supporting cell (Sertoli) is bound together with the neighboring cell through "tight junctions". This divides the germ epithelium into basal and adluminal compartments. The basal compartment contains spermatogonia up to the preleptotene stage. In the adluminal compartment are the spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa. The function of the supporting cells (Sertoli) is controlled by the FSH pituitary hormone (follicle-stimulating hormone). Sertoli cells synthetize ca. 60 various proteins that are connected with reproduction. The most important are inhibin, androgen-binding-protein (ABP) and the antimüllerian hormone (AMH).