Carol Cutler Linder, PhD New Mexico Highlands University clinder@nmhu.edu Phone:(505) 454-3267

Title: Gene Expression Patterns During Spermatogenesis

Project Description:

Roughly 15% of couples experience infertility, with males accounting for about 50% of the problems . Some 25-40% of infertile men display idiopathic infertility. Successful fertilization of the egg by the sperm is a complex process. A more thorough understanding of male reproductive physiology and in particular the process of male gamete formation (spermatogenesis) will increase our ability successfully to diagnose and treat male infertility. Equally important is the need for couples to manage their own reproduction. While females have mulitple choices for contraception, development of a reversible male contraception method has lagged. Spermatogenesis takes place in the testes and requires specific gene expression to initiate and sustain the numerous cellular processes resulting in mature spermatozoa. Somatic Sertoli cells support the various mitotic, meiotic, and differentiation events occuring within the developing germ cells. In adults, development of sperm is asynchronous making analysis of cell-specific gene expression problematic. However, prior to puberty and continuing through the first wave of spermatogenesis, germ cells multiply and differentiate synchronously allowing detailed analysis. The overall objective of this project is to develop a panel of gene expression markers specific to developing inbred mouse germ cells and their supporting cells. This panel will then be used further to characterize new mouse models of infertility.

Specific Aims:
AIM 1: Develop a candidate list of testis-specific genes for expression profiling using recently published litature and informatic databases. This will include the selection of genetic markers for immature Sertoli cells, mature Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, spermatocytes, round spermatids, elongating spermatids and condensing spermatids.
AIM 2: Validate these markers by RT PCR analyses in developing testes.
AIM 3: Analyze spermatogenesis process and expression pattern in ENU-induced mouse models of infertility.
AIM 4: Predict and validate protein expression using immunohistochemistry.