Analysis Tools
reproductive system
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• female homozygotes show no significant differences in follicular development, rate of pregnancy, or number of live pups/litter relative to wild-type controls
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• infertile males exhibit absence of round and elongated spermatids in seminiferous tubules
• most early pachytene-like spermatocytes are apoptotic; the remaining spermatogenic cells observed are spermatogonia and rare preleptotene/leptotene spermatocytes
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• in infertile males, a population of early meiotic cells exhibits apoptosis, as indicated by TUNEL analysis
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• in infertile males, the size of seminal vesicles is significantly reduced
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• infertile males display Sertoli cell clusters in the tubule lumen due to unfolding of the seminiferous tubule wall
• however, no extensive disruption of the seminiferous epithelium is observed in older hypofertile or infertile males
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• infertile males display extensive vacuolization of Sertoli cells
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• in infertile males, the absolute volume of seminiferous tubules is decreased by 99% and the diameter of tubules is reduced to 50% of that in wild-type males
• in hypofertile males, seminiferous tubule volume is less dramatically reduced, with no significant changes in overall histology or tubule diameter relative to wild-type males
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small testis
(
J:125763
)
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• in infertile males, testicular volume is reduced by 96%
• in hypofertile males, testicular volume is less drastically reduced compared with infertile mice
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• in infertile males, testicular weight is reduced to 16% of that in wild-type males
• in hypofertile males, testicular weight is reduced to 73% of that in wild-type males
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• in vitro, whole testes from infertile males display a 40% decrease in testosterone release relative to hypofertile males; however, the mean absolute volume of Leydig cells per testis remains unchanged, suggesting impairment of the steroidogenic capacity of Leydig cells in infertile males
• in vivo, adult infertile males exhibit a higher intratesticular content of inhibin B (19030 pg/testis) relative to hypofertile and wild-type males (9317 and 5314 pg/testis, respectively, values not significantly different)
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• in infertile males, spermatogenesis is arrested prior to early spermiogenic stages as indicated by the absence of round and elongated spermatids in seminiferous tubules
• in contrast, no apparent disruption of spermatogenesis is noted in hypofertile males
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• litters sired by hypofertile males are reduced (6.00.4 vs 8.50.3 pups/litter in wild-type males)
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• 27% of adult male homozygotes (3-8 months) are infertile
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• the remaining 73% of adult male homozygotes (3-8 months) are hypofertile, yielding fewer copulatory plugs and smaller litter sizes than wild-type males
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endocrine/exocrine glands
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• in infertile males, the size of seminal vesicles is significantly reduced
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• infertile males display Sertoli cell clusters in the tubule lumen due to unfolding of the seminiferous tubule wall
• however, no extensive disruption of the seminiferous epithelium is observed in older hypofertile or infertile males
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• infertile males display extensive vacuolization of Sertoli cells
|
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• in infertile males, the absolute volume of seminiferous tubules is decreased by 99% and the diameter of tubules is reduced to 50% of that in wild-type males
• in hypofertile males, seminiferous tubule volume is less dramatically reduced, with no significant changes in overall histology or tubule diameter relative to wild-type males
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small testis
(
J:125763
)
|
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• in infertile males, testicular volume is reduced by 96%
• in hypofertile males, testicular volume is less drastically reduced compared with infertile mice
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• in infertile males, testicular weight is reduced to 16% of that in wild-type males
• in hypofertile males, testicular weight is reduced to 73% of that in wild-type males
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• in vitro, whole testes from infertile males display a 40% decrease in testosterone release relative to hypofertile males; however, the mean absolute volume of Leydig cells per testis remains unchanged, suggesting impairment of the steroidogenic capacity of Leydig cells in infertile males
• in vivo, adult infertile males exhibit a higher intratesticular content of inhibin B (19030 pg/testis) relative to hypofertile and wild-type males (9317 and 5314 pg/testis, respectively, values not significantly different)
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homeostasis/metabolism
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• at 4 months of age, infertile males show a 81% decrease in basal levels of plasma testosterone relative to wild-type controls
• hypofertile males display a 55% decrease in basal levels of plasma testosterone relative to wild-type controls
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• at 4 months of age, infertile males display significantly higher LH plasma levels than hypofertile and wild-type males; no significant differences are noted between the latter groups of males
• in contrast, basal plasma FSH concentrations remain normal in both infertile and hypofertile males
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cellular
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• infertile males exhibit absence of round and elongated spermatids in seminiferous tubules
• most early pachytene-like spermatocytes are apoptotic; the remaining spermatogenic cells observed are spermatogonia and rare preleptotene/leptotene spermatocytes
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• in infertile males, a population of early meiotic cells exhibits apoptosis, as indicated by TUNEL analysis
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