Germ cell-intrinsic requirement for the homeodomain transcription factor PKnox1/Prep1 in adult spermatogenesis

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 2;13(1):e0190702. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190702. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

PKnox1 (also known as Prep1) belongs to the TALE family of homeodomain transcription factors that are critical for regulating growth and differentiation during embryonic and postnatal development in vertebrates. We demonstrate here that PKnox1 is required for adult spermatogenesis in a germ cell-intrinsic manner. Tamoxifen-mediated PKnox1 loss in the adult testes, as well as its germ cell-specific ablation, causes testis hypotrophy with germ cell apoptosis and, as a consequence, compromised spermatogenesis. In PKnox1-deficient testes, spermatogenesis was arrested at the c-Kit+ spermatogonia stage, with a complete loss of the meiotic spermatocytes, and was accompanied by compromised differentiation of the c-Kit+ spermatogonia. Taken together, these results indicate that PKnox1 is a critical regulator of maintenance and subsequent differentiation of the c-Kit+ stage of spermatogonia in the adult testes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Homeodomain Proteins / physiology*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Spermatogenesis / physiology*
  • Spermatogonia / cytology
  • Spermatozoa / metabolism*
  • Testis / cytology
  • Testis / metabolism

Substances

  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Pknox1 protein, mouse

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI 22780264 and 24780290 to YK and 25292194 and 25111513 to RG) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.