Meanings
plural Sertoli cells
- anatomyA kind of sustentacular cell which serves as a "nurse" cell of the testes and which is part of a seminiferous tubule.
In 2009, researchers reported7 deactivating an ovarian gene called Foxl2 in adult female mice; they found that the granulosa cells that support the development of eggs transformed into Sertoli cells, which support sperm development.
2015, Claire Ainsworth, ‘Sex redefined’, Nature, volume 518, number 7539
Synonyms & antonyms
nounelongated cells found in the seminiferous tubules of the testis; apparently they nourish the spermatids
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named for Enrico Sertoli, who published the first description of these cells in 1865.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Sertoli cell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sertoli%20cell
“Sertoli cell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sertoli%20cell. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sertoli cell,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sertoli%20cell.
Source: Sertoli cell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.