ALDH Enzyme Expression Is Independent of the Spermatogenic Cycle, and Their Inhibition Causes Misregulation of Murine Spermatogenic Processes.

ABSTRACT: Perturbations in the vitamin A metabolism pathway could be a significant cause of male infertility, as well as a target toward the development of a male contraceptive, necessitating the need for a better understanding of how testicular retinoic acid (RA) concentrations are regulated. Quantitative analyses have recently demonstrated that RA is present in a pulsatile manner along testis tubules. However, it is unclear if the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes, which are responsible for RA synthesis, contribute to the regulation of these RA concentration gradients. Previous studies have alluded to fluctuations in ALDH enzymes across the spermatogenic cycle, but these inferences have been based primarily on qualitative transcript localization experiments. Here, we show via various quantitat

SUBMITTER: Kent T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4809557 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature