Abstract
Mta1, a representative of the MTA gene family, is believed to be involved in the metastasis of malignant tumors. However, a systematic study of its physiological function has not been performed. It has been found in normal mouse organs at relatively low levels, except for in testis, suggesting a potential function in the male reproductive system. In order to explore the role of Mta1 protein during spermatogenesis, its expression in adult mouse testis was compared with that in developing mouse testis and in testis from adult mice treated with methoxyacetic acid, which selectively depletes primary spermatocytes. Quantitative analysis revealed that Mta1 protein gradually increased in the testis from 14 days postnatally. Immunolocalization analysis demonstrated strong signals in the seminiferous tubules, and Mta1 was predominantly present in the nucleus of primary spermatocytes and spermatogonia from 14 days postnatally. The most intensive staining was located in the nucleus of pachytene spermatocytes in mature testes. The expression pattern of Mta1 during spermatogenesis was also shown to be stage-specific by immunohistochemistry analysis. Finally, dramatic loss of Mta1 expression from pachytene spermatocytes was observed in the spermatogenic-arrested adult mouse testis. These results collectively demonstrate that Mta1 appears during postnatal testis development and suggest that this expression may be crucial for spermatogenesis.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Dr. Rui-an Wang (Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA) for his helpful advice and discussion regarding the possible functions of Mta1. We also thank Miss Hui Wang for her careful English assistance.
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This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (2006: 30570982; 2003: 30370750; 2003: 30371584).
An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0603-y
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Li, W., Zhang, J., Liu, X. et al. Correlation of appearance of metastasis-associated protein1 (Mta1) with spermatogenesis in developing mouse testis. Cell Tissue Res 329, 351–362 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-007-0412-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-007-0412-8