The influence of rat round spermatid protein(s) (RSP) on protein synthesis and secretory function of Sertoli cells was used in the bicameral chamber system. Round spermatids (RS) were purified from 90-day-old rats by centrifugal elutriation. RS were incubated in a supplement-enriched culture medium that lacked exogenous proteins. The RS-conditioned media were dialysed and lyophilized to obtain RSP. Most de novo protein synthesized under basal conditions by Sertoli cells (18-day-old) was secreted into the apical chamber (apical/basal ratio: 3.42). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH, 100 ng/ml) stimulated total protein secretion from Sertoli cells by a factor of 1.54. The RSP (100 micrograms/ml) stimulated total protein secretion from Sertoli cells by a factor of 2.33. The enhancement of total Sertoli cell protein secretion by FSH and RSP additively increased by a factor of 2.82. The combined effect of FSH and RSP on total protein secretion from Sertoli cells was dose dependent and saturated at approximately 200 micrograms/ml of RSP. Polarity of total protein secretion from Sertoli cells (apical/basal ratio: 3.42) was stimulated by RSP predominantly in the apical direction (apical/basal ratio: 8.48). The modulation of radiolabeled Sertoli cell secretory proteins (ceruloplasmin, CP; sulfated glycoprotein-2, SGP-2; testins and transferrin, Tf) by cold (non-labeled) RSP was investigated by immunoprecipitation followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The secretion of CP, SGP-2 and Tf was stimulated in a dose-dependent manner by the addition of RSP up to a saturating concentration of between 200 and 300 micrograms/ml, whereas the secretion of Sertoli cell testins did not reach saturation at 300 micrograms/ml RSP. These results indicate that FSH and RSP independently modulate Sertoli cell protein secretion, and that Sertoli cell secretory proteins may differentially respond to RSP stimulation.