
doi: 10.1210/en.2011-1102
pmid: 22045663
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.
Male, Aging, Mice, 129 Strain, Receptors, Retinoic Acid, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Mice, Testis, Animals, Spermatogenesis, [SDV.BDLR] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Reproductive Biology, DNA Primers, Mice, Knockout, Base Sequence, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Vitamin A Deficiency, Retinoic Acid Receptor alpha, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Retinoic Acid Receptor γ, Spermatogonia, [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio], Mice, Inbred C57BL, Meiosis, Spermatogonia Differentiation, Signal Transduction
Male, Aging, Mice, 129 Strain, Receptors, Retinoic Acid, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Mice, Testis, Animals, Spermatogenesis, [SDV.BDLR] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Reproductive Biology, DNA Primers, Mice, Knockout, Base Sequence, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Vitamin A Deficiency, Retinoic Acid Receptor alpha, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Retinoic Acid Receptor γ, Spermatogonia, [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio], Mice, Inbred C57BL, Meiosis, Spermatogonia Differentiation, Signal Transduction
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