ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
MITOTIC CHROMOSOME CONDENSATION; SELF-RENEWAL; SEMINIFEROUS EPITHELIUM;
PHD-FINGER; TESTIS; MOUSE; PROTEIN; MICE; NICHE; PLZFCell Biology; Spermatogonial stem cell; Differentiation; SPOC1 (PHF13);
Spermatogenesis;
Zusammenfassung:
SPOC1 (PHF13) is a recently identified protein that has been shown to
dynamically associate with somatic chromatin, to modulate chromatin
compaction and to be important for proper cell division. Here, we
report on the expression of SPOC1 in promyelocytic leukaemia zinc
finger (PLZF)-positive undifferentiated spermatogonial stem cells
(SSCs) of the mouse testis. To investigate further the biological
function of SPOC1 in germ cells we generated Spoc1 mutant mice from a
gene-trap embryonic stem cell clone. Postpubertal homozygous Spoc1(-/-)
animals displayed a pronounced progressive loss of germ cells from an
initially normal germ epithelium of the testis tubules leading to
testis hypoplasia. This loss first affected non-SSC stages of germ
cells and then, at a later time point, the undifferentiated
spermatogonia. Remarkably, successive loss of all germ cells (at > 20
weeks of age) was preceded by a transient increase in the number of
undifferentiated A(aligned) (A(al)) spermatogonia in younger mice (at >
10 weeks of age). The number of primary Spoc1(-/-) gonocytes, the
proliferation of germ cells, and the initiation and progression of
meiosis was normal, but we noted a significantly elevated level of
apoptosis in the Spoc1(-/-) testis. Taken together, the data argue that
SPOC1 is indispensable for stem cell differentiation in the testis and
for sustained spermatogenesis.
