title: THY1 is a surface marker of porcine gonocytes.
abstract: Gonocytes are important for the study of spermatogenesis. Identification and isolation of gonocytes has been reported in rodents but not in pigs due to a lack of molecular markers for gonocytes. The objective of this study was to identify THY1 expression in porcine testicular tissue and subsequently utilise THY1 as a marker to isolate and enrich porcine gonocytes from testes of newborn piglets. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that THY1 was expressed in gonocytes. Double-immunofluorescent analysis of THY1 and ZBTB16 indicated that THY1 and ZBTB16 were partially co-localised in gonocytes. Double-immunofluorescent analysis of both THY1 and GATA4 suggested that THY1(+) cells were not Sertoli cells. Magnetic-activated cell sorting of THY1(+) cells yielded a cell population with an enrichment of UCHL1(+) gonocytes 3.4-fold of that of the unsorted testicular cell population. Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses confirmed that the selected THY1(+) fraction had a higher expression of UCHL1 than the unsorted cells. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that THY1 is a surface marker of gonocytes in testes of pre-pubertal boars and could be utilised to identify and isolate porcine gonocytes. The findings will also facilitate culture and manipulation of male germline stem cells.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Junhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Jinzhou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Yihan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Yaqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Wenxian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation / Q000379:methods; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D013552:Swine; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase