Blood-testis barrier and spermatogenesis: lessons from genetically-modified mice
Open Access
- 1 January 2014
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Medknow in Asian Journal of Andrology
- Vol. 16 (4), 572-580
- https://doi.org/10.4103/1008-682x.125401
Abstract
The blood-testis barrier (BTB) is found between adjacent Sertoli cells in the testis where it creates a unique microenvironment for the development and maturation of meiotic and postmeiotic germ cells in seminiferous tubes. It is a compound proteinous structure, composed of several types of cell junctions including tight junctions (TJs), adhesion junctions and gap junctions (GJs). Some of the junctional proteins function as structural proteins of BTB and some have regulatory roles. The deletion or functional silencing of genes encoding these proteins may disrupt the BTB, which may cause immunological or other damages to meiotic and postmeiotic cells and ultimately lead to spermatogenic arrest and infertility. In this review, we will summarize the findings on the BTB structure and function from genetically-modified mouse models and discuss the future perspectives.Keywords
This publication has 104 references indexed in Scilit:
- Normal Establishment of Epithelial Tight Junctions in Mice and Cultured Cells Lacking Expression of ZO-3, a Tight-Junction MAGUK ProteinMolecular and Cellular Biology, 2006
- GATA‐4 is required for sex steroidogenic cell development in the fetal mouseDevelopmental Dynamics, 2006
- Sertoli-Germ Cell Anchoring Junction Dynamics in the Testis Are Regulated by an Interplay of Lipid and Protein KinasesPublished by Elsevier BV ,2005
- Identification and Characterization of Three New Components of the mSin3A Corepressor ComplexMolecular and Cellular Biology, 2003
- Is the Cadherin/Catenin Complex a Functional Unit of Cell-Cell Actin-Based Adherens Junctions in the Rat Testis?1Biology of Reproduction, 2003
- RBP1 Recruits the mSIN3-Histone Deacetylase Complex to the Pocket of Retinoblastoma Tumor Suppressor Family Proteins Found in Limited Discrete Regions of the Nucleus at Growth ArrestMolecular and Cellular Biology, 2001
- The retinoblastoma gene family in differentiation and developmentOncogene, 1999
- Immunohistochemical localization of androgen receptor in mouse testicular germ cells during fetal and postnatal developmentThe Anatomical Record, 1996
- Campomelic dysplasia and autosomal sex reversal caused by mutations in an SRY-related geneNature, 1994
- Development of Sertoli cell junctional specializations and the distribution of the tight‐junction‐associated protein ZO‐1 in the mouse testisJournal of Anatomy, 1991