Abstract
Hormone-sensitive lipase-knockout (HSL-/-) mice exhibit azoospermia for unclear reasons. To explore the basis of sterility, we performed the following three experiments. First, HSL protein distribution in the testis was determined. Next, transcriptome analyses were performed on the testes of three experimental groups. Finally, the fatty acid and cholesterol levels in the testes with three different genotypes studied were determined. We found that the HSL protein was present from spermatocyte cells to mature sperm acrosomes in wild-type (HSL+/+) testes. Spermiogenesis ceased at the elongation phase of HSL-/- testes. Transcriptome analysis indicated that genes involved in lipid metabolism, cell membrane, reproduction and inflammation-related processes were disordered in HSL-/- testes. The cholesterol content was significantly higher in HSL-/- than that in HSL+/+ testis. Therefore, gene expression and cholesterol ester content differed in HSL-/- testes compared to other testes, which may explain the sterility of male HSL-/- mice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 175-185 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Reproduction |
| Volume | 153 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 30870934). The authors would like to thank Prof. Grant A Mitchell and Shupei Wang for their assistance in providing the knockout mice. They appreciate the excellent sequencing services of major Bio Co. (Beijing, China). Thanks to textcheck.com for professional writing in English.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Authors.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Reproductive Medicine
- Embryology
- Endocrinology
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Cell Biology