Adam21 is dispensable for reproductive processes in mice

Yinghong Chen; Chao Liu; Yongliang Shang; Liying Wang; Wei Li; Guoping Li

doi:10.7717/peerj.12210

Adam21 is dispensable for reproductive processes in mice

PeerJ. 2021 Sep 23:9:e12210. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12210. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yinghong Chen^{1

2}, Chao Liu^{1

3}, Yongliang Shang⁴, Liying Wang^{1

2}, Wei Li^{1

2

3}, Guoping Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Innovation Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Fertility Preservation Lab, Reproductive Medicine Center, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Advanced Medical Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
⁵ The MOH Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: As a group of membrane-anchored proteins, the proteins containing a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain (ADAMs) control many biological processes, especially for male fertility. Mouse Adam21 was previously found to be specifically expressed in the somatic cells and germ cells of testes, but its functional role during spermatogenesis and male reproductive processes is still unknown.

Methods: Adam21-null mice were created using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Quantitative real-time PCR was used for analyzing of gene expression. Histological, cytological and immunofluorescence staining were performed to analyze the phenotypes of mouse testis and epididymis. Intracellular lipid droplets (LDs) were detected by Oil red O (ORO) staining and BODIPY staining. Fertility and sperm characteristics were also detected.

Results: Here, we successfully generated an Adam21 conventional knockout mouse model via CRISPR/Cas9 technology so that we can explore its potential role in male reproduction. We found that male mice lacking Adam21 have normal fertility without any detectable defects in spermatogenesis or sperm motility. Histological analysis of the seminiferous epithelium showed no obvious spermatogenesis difference between Adam21-null and wild-type mice. Cytological analysis revealed no detectable defects in meiotic progression, neither Sertoli cells nor Leydig cells displayed any defect compared with that of the control mice. All these results suggest that Adam21 might not be essential for male fertility in mice, and its potential function still needs further investigation.

Keywords: ADAMs; Adam21; Male infertility; Spermatogenesis.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant 2016YFA0500901), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (81925015), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 91649202). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.