Abstract:In situ, ex situ, and in vitro conservation are the principal means of wild animal protection at present. Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) not only continuously produce new cells through self-renewal, but also produce sperm through cell differentiation, and thus they have broad application potential for in vitro conservation of Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens). However, SSCs in testes are rare, and their purification and culture are very important for scientific research and applications. [Objectives] To explore the feasibility of SSCs enrichment and culture in Red Panda. [Methods] Testes were collected post mortem from a 3-month-old Red Panda and were used to generate cell suspensions following two-step enzyme (1 g/L collagenase Type IV and 0.25% trypsin-EDTA) digestion. ITGA6 was used as a molecular marker of SSCs, and the ITGA6- positive cells were enriched by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS). ITGA6-positive cells were seeded into the cell culture plate coated with laminin and cultured with the medium containing GDNF (20 μg/L), EGF (10 μg/L) and bFGF (10 μg/L). RT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining were used for the cell colonies identification. [Results] The purity of ITGA6-positive cell after sorting was 74.27% ± 8.73%, which was significantly higher than that before sorting (32.60% ± 3.06%) (Fig. 1). After 10 days of culture, SSC colonies were observed under the microscope (Fig. 2). The results of RT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining showed that ITGA6, PLZF, THY1 (SSC markers), VASA, and DAZL (germ cell markers) were specifically expressed in MGSC colonies (Fig. 3 and 4). [Conclusion] The overall results demonstrated the feasibility of ITGA6 as a molecular marker of Red Panda SSCs for cell purification and cultivation.