Reduced testicular steroidogenesis in tumor necrosis factor-alpha knockout mice |
| |
Authors: | Suh Ji Ho Gong Eun-Yeung Hong Cheol Yi Park Eunsook Ahn Ryun Sup Park Kwang Sung Lee Keesook |
| |
Affiliation: | School of Biological Sciences and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. |
| |
Abstract: | We previously demonstrated that the expression of Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS) in Sertoli cells is downregulated by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), which is secreted by meiotic germ cells, in mouse testes. Several studies have reported that MIS that is secreted by Sertoli cells inhibits steroidogenesis and, thus, the synthesis of testosterone in testicular Leydig cells. Here, we demonstrate that in TNF-alpha knockout testes, which show high levels of MIS, steroidogenesis is decreased compared to that in wild-type testes. The levels of testosterone and the mRNA levels of steroidogenesis-related genes were significantly lower after puberty in TNF-alpha knockout testes than in wild-type testes. Furthermore, the number of sperm was reduced in TNF-alpha knockout mice. Histological analysis revealed that spermatogenesis is also delayed in TNF-alpha knockout testes. In conclusion, TNF-alpha knockout mice show reduced testicular steroidogenesis, which is likely due to the high level of testicular MIS compared to that seen in wild-type mice. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|