Spermatogenesis is a complicated process of germ cell differentiation in adult testis, which is established during testicular development. There are five types of germ cells, each at a specific developmental stage, found in the seminiferous tubules: spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes, spermatids and sperms. They can be divided into three groups according to their DNA content: 4N DNA content cells (4C cells), 2N DNA content cells (2C cells), and 1N DNA content cells (1C cells). The separation of these cells enables researchers to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying testicular development and/or spermatogenesis. In the present study, we separated the 2C and 4C cells of seminiferous tubules in human adult testis by flow cytometry, and identified human H-Lse by differential display RT-PCR. The expression pattern of H-Lse was found to be developmentally regulated and stage-specific, indicating its possible role in testicular development and/or germ cell differentiation.