title: Semen quality parameters and embryo lethality in mice deficient for Trp53 protein.
abstract: Trp53 is a protein which is able to control semen parameters in mice, but the extent of that control depends on the genetic background of the mouse strain. Males from C57BL/6Kw, 129/Sv, C57BL×129 -p53+/+ (wild type controls) and C57BL×129-p53-/- (mutants) strains were used in the study, and histology and light microscopy were applied to evaluate the influence of genetic background and Trp53 (p53) genotype on testes morphology and semen quality in male mice. We showed that sperm head morphology, maturity and tail membrane integrity were controlled only by the genetic background of C57BL/6Kw and 129/Sv males, while testes weight and sperm concentration depended on both the genetic background and p53 genotype. Cell accumulation in seminiferous tubules may be responsible for heavier testes of p53-deficient males. In addition, to examine the effect of sex and p53 genotype on embryo lethality, pairs of control (C57BL×129-p53+/+) and heterozygous (C57BL×129-p53+/-) mice were examined. Before day 7 post coitum (dpc), female and male embryos were equally resorbed in both crosses types. After 7 dpc, preferential female embryo lethality in the heterozygote pairs was responsible for the skewed sex ratio in their progeny. Also, mutant female and male newborns were underrepresented in the litters of the heterozygous breeding pairs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. aniela.golas@uj.edu.pl
authors.forename: Aniela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Golas
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lech
authors.forename: Milosz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janula
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bederska
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenartowicz
authors.forename: Jozefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Styrna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020964:Embryo Loss; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011247:Pregnancy; D055101:Semen Analysis; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53