title: PTEN signaling is required for the maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells in mouse, by regulating the expressions of PLZF and UTF1.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pten plays a crucial role in the stem cell maintenance in a few organs. Pten defect also causes the premature oocytes and ovary aging. We and other groups have found that the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling regulates the proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). PTEN functions as a negative regulator of the PI3K pathway. Thus, we thought that the fate of SSCs might be controlled by Pten.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report that promyelocytic leukaemia zinc finger (PLZF) and undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 (UTF1), both of which are germ cell-specific transcriptional factors, are regulated by Pten. Conditional deletion of Pten leads to reduction in PLZF expression but induction of UTF1, which is associated with SSCs depletion and infertility in males with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data demonstrate that Pten is required for the long-term maintenance of SSCs and precise regulation of spermatogenesis in mouse. The finding of a Pten-regulated GFRα1(+)/PLZF(-)/UTF1(+) progenitor population provides a new insight into the precise mechanisms controlling SSC fate.
authors.affiliation: Hongqiao International Institute of Medicine, Shanghai Tongren Hospital / Faculty of Basic Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.|Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People Hospital, Shanghai, 200233 China.
authors.forename: Hongfang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.|Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People Hospital, Shanghai, 200233 China.
authors.forename: Yincheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025 China.
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: PI3K-Akt signaling; PLZF; Pten knockout; Spermatogonial stem cells; UTF1