| First Author | Chang C | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 18 | Pages | 6876-81 |
| PubMed ID | 15107499 | Mgi Jnum | J:89886 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3041893 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.0307306101 |
| Citation | Chang C, et al. (2004) Infertility with defective spermatogenesis and hypotestosteronemia in male mice lacking the androgen receptor in Sertoli cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101(18):6876-81 |
| abstractText | Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) play important roles in male fertility, although the detailed mechanisms, particularly how androgen/AR influences spermatogenesis in particular cell types, remain unclear. Using a Cre-Lox conditional knockout strategy, we generated a tissue-specific knockout mouse with the AR gene deleted only in Sertoli cells (S-AR(-/y)). Phenotype analyses show the S-AR(-/y) mice were indistinguishable from WT AR mice (B6 AR(+/y)) with the exception of testes, which were significantly atrophied. S-AR(-/y) mice were infertile, with spermatogenic arrest predominately at the diplotene premeiotic stage and almost no sperm detected in the epididymides. S-AR(-/y) mice also have lower serum testosterone concentrations and higher serum leuteinizing hormone concentrations than B6 AR(+/y) mice. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that S-AR(-/y) mice have defects in the expression of anti-Mullerian hormone, androgen-binding protein, cyclin A1, and sperm-1, which play important roles in the control of spermatogenesis and/or steroidogenesis. Together, our Sertoli cell-specific AR knockout mice provide in vivo evidence of the need for functional AR in Sertoli cells to maintain normal spermatogenesis and testosterone production, and ensure normal male fertility. |
