Lentivirus-mediated in vivo Gpat2-silencing in mouse testis impairs spermatogenesis

GARCIA FABIANI, M.B.; STRINGA, P.; CATTANEO, E.R.; LOFEUDO, J.M.; LACUNZA, E.; PELLON-MAISON, M.; MONTANARO, M.A.; GONZALEZ BARO, M.R.

Rosario

Congreso; L Reunion Anual de SAIB; 2014

SAIB

We have previously shown that theisoform 2 of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT2), an enzyme belongingto the GPAT family that has unique expression characteristics compared to the othermembers (GPAT1, 3, and 4), is expressed almost exclusively in spermatic cells. Wehave further confirmed GPAT2 as a member of the cancer-testis group of genes havingan abnormal overexpression in certain tumor cell types and DNA-methylation-mediatedtranscription regulation.To understand the role of GPAT2 inrelation to spermatic cell maturation and the spermatogenic process, we studiedthe age dependent expression profile of mouse GPAT2 by Q-PCR and Western blot.We found an expression peak at post natal day (PND) 15. We confirmed theseresults by immunohistochemistry and insitu hybridization, and observed that GPAT2 is localized preferentially inpachytene spermatocytes and not in spermatogonia. We then performed an in vivo lentivirus-mediated silencing ofGPAT2 in mouse testis. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis showedboth a strong pre-meiotic arrest and a severe decrease in the number of maturesperm cells in those tubules with diminished GPAT2 protein expression. Theseresults show that GPAT2 is important for the normal progress of the spermaticcycle in post-natal testis development.