Knockout of cyclin-dependent kinases 8 and 19 leads to depletion of cyclin C and suppresses spermatogenesis and male fertility in mice.

ABSTRACT: CDK8 and CDK19 paralogs are regulatory kinases associated with the transcriptional Mediator complex. We have generated mice with the systemic inducible Cdk8 knockout on the background of Cdk19 constitutive knockout. Cdk8/19 double knockout (iDKO) males, but not single Cdk8 or Cdk19 KO, had an atrophic reproductive system and were infertile. The iDKO males lacked postmeiotic spermatids and spermatocytes after meiosis I pachytene. Testosterone levels were decreased whereas the amounts of the luteinizing hormone were unchanged. Single-cell RNA sequencing showed marked differences in the expression of steroidogenic genes (such as Cyp17a1, Star, and Fads) in Leydig cells concomitant with alterations in Sertoli cells and spermatocytes, and were li

SUBMITTER: Bruter AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11964450 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature