Establishment of an oligoasthenospermia mouse model based on gene suppression.

BACKGROUND

Oligoasthenospermia is one of the main causes of male infertility. Researchers usually use chemical drugs to directly damage germ cells to prepare oligoasthenospermia models, which disregards the adhesion and migration between spermatogenic cells and Sertoli cells. is a critical regulator of the adhesin of germ cell; thus, we sought to explore a novel oligoasthenospermia model based on gene suppression.

METHODS

Mice in the Pifithrin-α group were injected intraperitoneally with 2.5 mg/kg Pifithrin-α ( inhibitor) daily for 30 consecutive days. Reproductive hormone levels and epididymal sperm quality, as well as the network morphology of Sertoli cells were tested.

RESULTS

Sperm density, motility, and the relative protein and mRNA expression of and were obviously decreased in the Pifithrin-α group compared with the normal control group. No significant distinction was observed in the relative mRNA and protein expression of . Furthermore, the tight junctions (TJs) and apical ectoplasmic specialization (ES) were destroyed in the Pifithrin-α group.

CONCLUSION

The above results indicate that we successfully established a new oligoasthenospermia mouse model. This study provides a foundation for further exploration of the roles of genes during spermatogenesis and provides new research objects for further oligospermia research and future drug discovery.