Specific deficiency of Plzf paralog, Zbtb20, in Sertoli cells does not affect spermatogenesis and fertility in mice.
Ztbt20 is a POK family transcription factor and primarily functions through its conserved C2H2 Krüppel type zinc finger and BTB/POZ domains. The present study was designed to define the function of the Zbtb20, in vivo, during mouse spermatogenesis. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that ZBTB20 protein was localized specifically in the nuclei of Sertoli cells in seminiferous tubules. To investigate its role during spermatogenesis, we crossed Amh-Cre transgenic mice with Zbtb20 floxp mice to generate conditionally knockout mice (cKO) in which Zbtb20 was specifically deleted in Sertoli cells. The cKO mice were fertile and did not show any detectable abnormalities in spermatogenesis. Taken together, though specific deletion of transcription factor Zbtb20 in Sertoli cells has no apparent influence on spermatogenesis, its specific localization in Sertoli cells makes Zbtb20 a useful marker for the identification of Sertoli cells in seminiferous tubules.
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Xiaohua
X
Jiang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Huan
H
Zhang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Shi
S
Yin
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Yuanwei
Y
Zhang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Weimei
W
Yang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Wei
W
Zheng
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Liu
L
Wang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Zheng
Z
Wang
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Ihtisham
I
Bukhari
1] Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China [2] MRC Human Genetics Unit and Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Howard J
HJ
Cooke
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Furhan
F
Iqbal
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, CAS Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science &Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Qinghua
Q
Shi
D000818:Animals; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015870:Gene Expression; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*
D014157:Transcription Factors; C520426:Zbtb20 protein, mouse