Human Reproduction, Vol. 18, No. 10, 2110-2117,
October 2003
© 2003 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Role of the neonatal period of pituitary–testicular activity in germ cell proliferation and differentiation in the primate testis
1 MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, Centre for Reproductive Biology, The Chancellor’s Building, University of Edinburgh, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB and 2 Section of Child Life and Health, Department of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 1LW, UK
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. r.sharpe{at}hrsu.mrc.ac.uk
BACKGROUND: The neonatal period of pituitary–testicular activity (NPTA) in human males has been hypothesized to play a role in germ cell proliferation and differentiation and to be defective in cryptorchid testes. The present study was carried out to establish in the marmoset if suppression of the NPTA, by treatment with a GnRH antagonist, results in impaired germ cell proliferation and/or differentiation. METHODS: Comparison of germ cell (GC) numbers and differentiation from gonocytes to pre-spermatogonia and spermatogonia, at birth (in controls) and at the end of the NPTA in marmoset co-twin males treated from birth to age 14 weeks with vehicle or GnRH antagonist. RESULTS: From birth to age 18–24 weeks, testis weight increased 
5-fold and GC number 10-fold, including increased numbers of gonocytes and pre-spermatogonia and the first appearance of spermatogonia. Treatment with GnRH antagonist attenuated the increase in testis weight and GC numbers, but the effect was only partial (24–30% reduction), and the relative proportions of gonocytes, pre-spermatogonia and spermatogonia in the GnRH antagonist-treated group were unchanged from control values. CONCLUSIONS: The NPTA plays only a minor, if any, role in GC proliferation and differentiation in the marmoset. The changes in GnRH antagonist-treated co-twins may reflect impaired GC survival due to withdrawal of gonadotrophin support for Sertoli cells. These findings do not support a pivotal role for the NPTA in neonatal GC development in primates.
Key words: FSH/germ cells/LH/Sertoli cells/testosterone
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