MCB
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Narisawa, S.
Right arrow Articles by Millán, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Narisawa, S.
Right arrow Articles by Millán, J. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, August 2002, p. 5554-5562, Vol. 22, No. 15
0270-7306/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.22.15.5554-5562.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Testis-Specific Cytochrome c-Null Mice Produce Functional Sperm but Undergo Early Testicular Atrophy

Sonoko Narisawa,1 Norman B. Hecht,2 Erwin Goldberg,3 Kelly M. Boatright,1 John C. Reed,1 and José Luis Millán1*

The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, California 92037,1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,2 Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 602083

Received 15 November 2001/ Returned for modification 28 January 2002/ Accepted 30 April 2002

Differentiating male germ cells express a testis-specific form of cytochrome c (Cyt cT) that is distinct from the cytochrome c expressed in somatic cells (Cyt cS). To examine the role of Cyt cT in germ cells, we generated mice null for Cyt cT. Homozygous Cyt cT-/- pups were statistically underrepresented (21%) but developed normally and were fertile. However, spermatozoa isolated from the cauda epididymis of Cyt cT-null animals were less effective in fertilizing oocytes in vitro and contain reduced levels of ATP compared to wild-type sperm. Sperm from Cyt cT-null mice contained a greater number of immotile spermatozoa than did samples from control mice, i.e., 53.1% ± 13.7% versus 33.2% ± 10.3% (P < 0.0001) for vas deferens sperm and 40.1% ± 9.6% versus 33.2% ± 7.5% (P = 0.0104) for epididymal sperm. Cyt cT-null mice often exhibit early atrophy of the testes after 4 months of age, losing germ cells as a result of increased apoptosis. However, no difference in the activation of caspase-3, -8, or -9 was detected between the Cyt cT-/- testes and controls. Our data indicate that the Cyt cT-null testes undergo early atrophy equivalent to that which occurs during aging as a consequence of a reduction in oxidative phosphorylation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Burnham Institute, 10901 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Phone: (858) 646-3130. Fax: (858) 713-6272. E-mail: millan{at}burnham.org.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, August 2002, p. 5554-5562, Vol. 22, No. 15
0022-538X/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.22.15.5554-5562.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2002 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.