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Mammalian Spermatogenesis in Vivo and in Vitro: A Partnership of Spermatogenic and Somatic Cell Lineages^*

Department of Cell Biology and Anatomical Sciences, The City University of New York Medical School New York, New York 10031

Correspondence: Address requests for reprints to: A. L. Kierszenbaum, M.D., Ph.D, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomical Sciences, CUNY Medical School, 138th Street and Convent Avenue J-916, New York, New York 10031.

Abstract

Is gametogenesis possible in vitro? This question was one of the relevant topics in a comprehensive review published in 1965 by Etienne Wolff and Katy Haffen (1), describing results of pioneering organ culture work on vertebrate and invertebrate gonads carried out between 1913 and 1965. Wolff and Haffen provided a partial answer to the above question by indicating that organ culture methods allow "far greater differentiation of the germ cells to occur since they are surrounded by their natural environment, namely the somatic cells of the gonads." The early recognition that spermatogenic cells can differentiate in vitro in close association with somatic cells can be regarded as the most forwardlooking aspect of this statement. Another important remark in Wolff and Haffen's review was the anticipated potential use of in vitro organ and cell culture systems for determining the role of various factors, including hormones, in the regulation of the spermatogenic process.

Footnotes

^* The research work in the laboratory of the author is supported by USPHS Grants HD-11884 and HD-27685.

This paper is dedicated to the memory of H. Stanley Bennett, a scientist, a teacher, and a friend.

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