High telomerase is a hallmark of undifferentiated spermatogonia and is required for maintenance of male germline stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Telomerase inactivation causes loss of the male germline in worms, fish, and mice, indicating a conserved dependence on telomere maintenance in this cell lineage. Here, using telomerase reverse transcriptase (Tert) reporter mice, we found that very high telomerase expression is a hallmark of undifferentiated spermatogonia, the mitotic population where germline stem cells reside. We exploited these high telomerase levels as a basis for purifying undifferentiated spermatogonia using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Telomerase levels in undifferentiated spermatogonia and embryonic stem cells are comparable and much greater than in somatic progenitor compartments. Within the germline, we uncovered an unanticipated gradient of telomerase activity that also enables isolation of more mature p

SUBMITTER: Pech MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4691947 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature