Differential responsiveness of spermatogonia to retinoic acid dictates precocious differentiation but not meiotic entry during steady-state spermatogenesis

The foundation of mammalian spermatogenesis is provided by undifferentiated spermatogonia, comprised of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and transit-amplifying progenitors that differentiate in response to retinoic acid (RA) and are committed to enter meiosis. Our laboratory recently reported that the foundational populations of SSCs, undifferentiated progenitors, and differentiating spermatogonia are formed in the neonatal testis in part based on their differential responsiveness to RA. Here, we expand on those findings to define the extent to which RA responsiveness during steady-state spermatogenesis in the adult testis regulates spermatogonial fate. Our results reveal both progenitor and differentiating spermatogonia throughout the testis are capable of responding to exogenous RA, but their resulting fates were quite distinct - undifferentiated progenitors precociously differentiated and proceeded into meiosis on a normal timeline, while differentiating spermatogonia were unable to hasten their entry into meiosis. This reveals spermatogonia responding to RA must still complete the 8.6 day differentiation program prior to their entry into meiosis. Addition of exogenous RA enriched testes with preleptotene and pachytene spermatocytes one and two seminiferous cycles later, respectively, supporting recent clinical studies reporting increased sperm production and enhanced fertility in subfertile men on long-term RA analog treatment. Collectively, our results reveal a well-buffered system exists within mammalian testes to regulate spermatogonial RA exposure, that exposed undifferentiated progenitors can precociously differentiate, but must complete a normal-length differentiation program prior to entering meiosis, and that daily RA treatments increased numbers of advanced germ cells by directing undifferentiated progenitors to continuously differentiate.

RA; retinoic acid; spermatocyte; spermatogenesis; spermatogonia.