{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T17:17:51Z","timestamp":1790788671413,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":72,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,19]],"date-time":"2022-11-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1668816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["MA1080\/29-1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MA1080\/29-1"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["WE4554\/3-1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["WE4554\/3-1"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["MA 1080\/23-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MA 1080\/23-3"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["SFB 870"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFB 870"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["TRR274"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TRR274"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["SPP 1738"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SPP 1738"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["SPP1757"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SPP1757"]}]},{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["SPP2191"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SPP2191"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Peritubular cells of the human testis form a small compartment surrounding the seminiferous tubules. They are crucial for sperm transport, and they emerge as contributors to the spermatogonial stem cell niche. They are among the least known cell types of the human body. We employed single-cell RNA sequencing of cultured human testicular peritubular cells (HTPCs), which had been isolated from testicular samples of donors with normal spermatogenesis. The significant overlap between our results and recently published ex vivo data indicates that HTPCs are a highly adequate cellular model to define and study these cells. Thus, based on the expression of several markers, HTPCs can be classified as testicular smooth muscle cells. Small differences between the in vivo\/in vitro expressed genes may be due to cellular plasticity. Plasticity was also shown upon addition of FCS to the culture medium. Based on transcriptome similarities, four cellular states were identified. Further analyses confirmed the presence of known stem cell niche-relevant factors (e.g., GDNF) and identified unknown functions, e.g., the ability to produce retinoic acid. Therefore, HTPCs allow us to define the signature(s) and delineate the functions of human testicular peritubular cells. The data may also serve as a resource for future studies to better understand male (in)fertility.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells11223685","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,21]],"date-time":"2022-11-21T03:11:21Z","timestamp":1669000281000},"page":"3685","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["The Molecular Signature of Human Testicular Peritubular Cells Revealed by Single-Cell Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Annika","family":"Liebich","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Schmid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8352-1498","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christina","family":"Koupourtidou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"},{"name":"Helmholtz Center Munich, Institute of Stem Cell Research, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carola","family":"Herrmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6804-5825","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kim-Gwendolyn","family":"Dietrich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Harald","family":"Welter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jovica","family":"Ninkovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"},{"name":"Helmholtz Center Munich, Institute of Stem Cell Research, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9388-4639","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Artur","family":"Mayerhofer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Center, Cell Biology, Anatomy III, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1038\/s41585-021-00480-2","article-title":"Advances in stem cell research for the treatment of primary hypogonadism","volume":"18","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. 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