Gss deficiency causes age-related fertility impairment via ROS-triggered ferroptosis in the testes of mice.

ABSTRACT: Glutathione synthetase (GSS) catalyzes the final step in the synthesis of glutathione (GSH), a well-established antioxidant. Research on the specific roles of the Gss gene during spermatogenesis remains limited due to the intricate structure of testis. In this study, we identified pachytene spermatocytes as the primary site of GSS expression and generated a mouse model with postnatal deletion of Gss using Stra8-Cre (S8) to investigate the role of GSS in germ cells. The impact of Gss knockout on reducing male fertility is age-dependent and caused by ferroptosis in the testis. The 2-month-old S8/Gss^-/- male mice exhibited normal fertility, due to a compensatory increase in GPX4, which prevented the accumulation of ROS. With aging, there was a decline in GPX4 and an increase in ALO

SUBMITTER: Zhu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10730895 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature