Sox9 and Sox8 protect the adult testis from male-to-female genetic reprogramming and complete degeneration.

ABSTRACT: The new concept of mammalian sex maintenance establishes that particular key genes must remain active in the differentiated gonads to avoid genetic sex reprogramming, as described in adult ovaries after Foxl2 ablation. Dmrt1 plays a similar role in postnatal testes, but the mechanism of adult testis maintenance remains mostly unknown. Sox9 and Sox8 are required for postnatal male fertility, but their role in the adult testis has not been investigated. Here we show that after ablation of Sox9 in Sertoli cells of adult, fertile Sox8(-/-) mice, testis-to-ovary genetic reprogramming occurs and Sertoli cells transdifferentiate into granulosa-like cells. The process of testis regression culminates in complete degeneration of the seminiferous tubules, which become acellular, empty spaces among th

SUBMITTER: Barrionuevo FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4945155 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature