title: Changes in the morphology and protein expression of germ cells and Sertoli cells in plateau pikas testes during non-breeding season.
abstract: Plateau pikas are seasonally breeding small herbivores that inhabit the meadow ecosystem of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Testis regression in plateau pikas begins in early June, and the male pikas are completely infertile, with a dramatically reduced testis size, in late July. In this study, a decreased germ cell number in the testes was first noted in early June. By late June, only Sertoli cells and a small number of spermatogonia remained. Interestingly, large gonocyte-like germ cells were observed in early July. In late July, the number of gonocyte-like cells per tubule increased significantly, and most of the Sertoli cell nuclei moved to and clustered in the center of the seminiferous tubules. The gonocyte-like germ cells and Sertoli cells began to express AP-2γ and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) proteins, which were detected in the germ cells and Sertoli cells of juvenile pikas but not in adult testes. Simultaneously, LC3 puncta dramatically increased in the seminiferous tubules of the pikas' testes during the non-breeding season. Our study found that spermatogonia and Sertoli cells in non-breeding adult pikas morphologically resembled those in juvenile pikas and expressed specific markers, indicating that de-differentiation-like transitions may occur during this process.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biological Adaptation and Evolution, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, Qinghai Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biological Adaptation and Evolution, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, Qinghai Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiapeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinrong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology*; D007793:Lagomorpha / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis; D012621:Seasons; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology*; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011506:Proteins; D020543:Proteome