Division of Urology, Department of Surgery Related, Faculty of Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Urology. 2012 Nov;80(5):1161.e13-7. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2012.06.036. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
To investigate the expression levels of claudin-11 mRNA and the localization of claudin-11 protein in testes of infertile men.
This study included 5 men with obstructive azoospermia and 50 men with nonobstructive azoospermia who had undergone testicular sperm extraction. Testicular tissues were obtained from these men and expression levels of claudin-11 mRNA in testicular samples were determined by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The localization of claudin-11 protein was analyzed by immunofluorescent staining.
Expression levels of testicular claudin-11 mRNA in nonobstructive azoospermia men were significantly greater than in obstructive azoospermia men, whereas there was no significant difference in testicular claudin-11 mRNA expression between men with and without successful sperm retrieval by testicular sperm extraction. Based on the findings of immunofluorescent staining, expression patterns of claudin-11 protein could be divided into normal (localization to basal component of seminiferous tubules) and abnormal patterns (diffuse expression in Sertoli cells/extremely low or no expression). The proportion of nonobstructive azoospermia men with an abnormal expression pattern of claudin-11, particularly that of Sertoli cell-only syndrome men, was significantly greater than that of obstructive azoospermia men. Furthermore, claudin-11 expression showing an abnormal pattern in men without successful sperm retrieval was significantly frequent compared with those whose sperm were successfully retrieved.
These findings suggest that disorganization of claudin-11 expression in Sertoli cells might be one of the factors involved in the impairment of spermatogenesis.
研究 Claudin-11mRNA 的表达水平及其在男性不育症患者睾丸中的蛋白定位。
本研究纳入了 5 例梗阻性无精子症患者和 50 例接受睾丸精子提取术的非梗阻性无精子症患者。获取这些患者的睾丸组织，采用实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测睾丸组织中 Claudin-11mRNA 的表达水平，并用免疫荧光染色法分析 Claudin-11 蛋白的定位。
非梗阻性无精子症患者的睾丸 Claudin-11mRNA 表达水平明显高于梗阻性无精子症患者，但睾丸精子提取术精子获取成功与失败患者的睾丸 Claudin-11mRNA 表达水平无显著差异。免疫荧光染色结果显示 Claudin-11 蛋白的表达模式可分为正常（定位于生精小管基底膜）和异常（Sertoli 细胞弥漫性表达/极低或无表达）两种。Claudin-11 异常表达（特别是 Sertoli 细胞综合征）的非梗阻性无精子症患者比例明显高于梗阻性无精子症患者，且睾丸精子提取术精子获取失败患者 Claudin-11 异常表达的比例明显高于精子获取成功患者。
这些发现提示 Claudin-11 在 Sertoli 细胞中的表达异常可能是导致生精障碍的因素之一。
