Kang Zhenlong, Qiao Na, Tan Zhigang, Tang Zhaoxin, Li Ying
a College of Veterinary Medicine , South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou , China.
b Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Severe Clinical Animal Diseases , Guangzhou , China.
Syst Biol Reprod Med. 2017 Dec;63(6):364-369. doi: 10.1080/19396368.2017.1355416. Epub 2017 Aug 3.
Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) was known to play various roles in different type cells; however, little was known about the effect of LCN2 in male fertility. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression pattern of LCN2 with increasing age in mice, and to obtain insight into the role of LCN2 in mice testes by induced cryptorchidism and busulfan-treated infertility. In situ hybridization showed that LCN2 was localized primarily in Leydig cells, but was absent in Sertoli and germ cells. Its expression in testes exhibited an age-related increase from day 1 to 8 months, then reduced by the twelth month. The mRNA and protein levels of LCN2 in the testes of both infertile models increased as measured by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. LCN2 mRNA and protein levels were higher (p<0.05) in busulfan treated mice than that of cryptorchidism. These observations have shown that LCN2 is developmentally regulated and highly expressed in the Leydig cells of mouse testes.
脂质运载蛋白-2（LCN2）在不同类型细胞中发挥多种作用；然而，关于LCN2对雄性生育能力的影响却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们旨在探究LCN2在小鼠体内随年龄增长的表达模式，并通过诱导隐睾症和白消安处理导致的不育来深入了解LCN2在小鼠睾丸中的作用。原位杂交显示，LCN2主要定位于睾丸间质细胞，而在支持细胞和生殖细胞中不存在。其在睾丸中的表达从第1天到8个月呈现与年龄相关的增加，然后在第12个月时下降。通过实时PCR和蛋白质印迹法分别检测发现，两种不育模型小鼠睾丸中LCN2的mRNA和蛋白质水平均升高。白消安处理的小鼠中LCN2的mRNA和蛋白质水平高于隐睾症小鼠（p<0.05）。这些观察结果表明，LCN2在发育过程中受到调控，并在小鼠睾丸的间质细胞中高表达。
