BioProject

We show that Glis3 is expressed in gonocytes, SSCs and SPCs, but not in differentiated spermatogonia or subsequent stages of spermatogenesis nor in Sertoli or Leydig cells. More...

We show that Glis3 is expressed in gonocytes, SSCs and SPCs, but not in differentiated spermatogonia or subsequent stages of spermatogenesis nor in Sertoli or Leydig cells. We further demonstrate that Glis3-deficiency causes a severe impairment in spermatogenesis in mice. Although the number of gonocytes was slightly diminished in Glis3KO testis, the number undifferentiated, PLZF+ spermatogonia was dramatically reduced leading to a virtual block in the progression of spermatogenesis. Gene expression profiling showed that the expression of a number of genes associated with self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial cells was significantly decreased in 1-week-old Glis3KO2 testis. These included a set of GDNF-dependent genes, such as Etv5, Bcl6b, Lhx1, Brachyury, Id4, and Pou3f1, and GDNF-independent genes, such as FoxO1, Oct4, and Zbtb16. Impairment of the nuclear localization of FoxO1 may be in part responsible for the reduced expression of Ret, Lhx1, and Sall4 in Glis3KO2 testis. Our study identifies Glis3 as a novel and critical regulator of early stages of spermatogenesis. Overall design: Thy1+ cells were isolated from 3 WT and 3 Glis3KO2 testis at postnatal day 4, and total RNAs were purified from them. Then the samples were applied to Agilent mouse genome chip. Less...