Deficiency in the regulation of testicular galactolipid sulphotransferase in rats carrying the growth-and-reproduction-complex (grc) gene.

The regulation of the activity of testicular germ-cell galactolipid sulphotransferase was investigated in rats homozygous for the grc (growth and reproductive complex) gene. In the adult grc homozygotes, the activity was elevated relative to that in the wild-type animals, and a concomitant deficiency of a developmentally regulated sulphotransferase inhibitor was found. Spermatogenesis in the grc homozygotes is blocked at a stage that correlates temporally with the earliest detection of this inhibitor in the wild-type animal. In addition, there was a similar increase in the specific activity of the kidney galactolipid sulphotransferase in the grc homozygotes. This biochemical abnormality is the first to be associated with a genetically regulated, developmental defect linked to the major histocompatibility complex, and it is related to the pathogenesis of one of the major lesions controlled by the grc.