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Spermatogonia Differentiation Requires Retinoic Acid Receptor γ
- Source :
- Endocrinology, Endocrinology, Endocrine Society, 2012, 153 (1), pp.438-449. ⟨10.1210/en.2011-1102⟩, Endocrinology, 2012, 153 (1), pp.438-449. ⟨10.1210/en.2011-1102⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- The Endocrine Society, 2012.
-
Abstract
- International audience; Vitamin A is instrumental to mammalian reproduction. Its metabolite, retinoic acid (RA), acts in a hormone-like manner through binding to and activating three nuclear receptor isotypes, RA receptor (RAR)α (RARA), RARβ, and RARγ (RARG). Here, we show that 1) RARG is expressed by A aligned (Aal) spermatogonia, as well as during the transition from Aal to A1 spermatogonia, which is known to require RA; and 2) ablation of Rarg, either in the whole mouse or specifically in spermatogonia, does not affect meiosis and spermiogenesis but impairs the Aal to A1 transition in the course of some of the seminiferous epithelium cycles. Upon ageing, this phenomenon yields seminiferous tubules containing only spermatogonia and Sertoli cells. Altogether, our findings indicate that RARG cell-autonomously transduces, in undifferentiated spermatogonia of adult testes, a RA signal critical for spermatogenesis. During the prepubertal spermatogenic wave, the loss of RARG function can however be compensated by RARA, as indicated by the normal timing of appearance of meiotic cells in Rarg-null testes. Accordingly, RARG- and RARA-selective agonists are both able to stimulate Stra8 expression in wild-type prepubertal testes. Interestingly, inactivation of Rarg does not impair expression of the spermatogonia differentiation markers Kit and Stra8, contrary to vitamin A deficiency. This latter observation supports the notion that the RA-signaling pathway previously shown to operate in Sertoli cells also participates in spermatogonia differentiation.
- Subjects :
- Male
Aging
endocrine system
medicine.medical_specialty
Mice, 129 Strain
Receptors, Retinoic Acid
Spermiogenesis
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]
Retinoic acid
Biology
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Mice
03 medical and health sciences
chemistry.chemical_compound
0302 clinical medicine
Endocrinology
Internal medicine
Testis
medicine
Animals
Spermatogenesis
DNA Primers
030304 developmental biology
Mice, Knockout
0303 health sciences
Base Sequence
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Vitamin A Deficiency
urogenital system
Retinoic Acid Receptor alpha
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
[SDV.BDLR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Reproductive Biology
Sertoli cell
Retinoic Acid Receptor γ
Spermatogonia
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Meiosis
Retinoic acid receptor
Spermatogonia Differentiation
medicine.anatomical_structure
Seminiferous tubule
chemistry
Nuclear receptor
Retinoic acid receptor alpha
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Signal Transduction
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19457170 and 00137227
- Volume :
- 153
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Endocrinology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8638b7d3acb3b736b340f2945324bffc