SHISA6 Confers Resistance to Differentiation-Promoting Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Mouse Spermatogenic Stem Cells.

ABSTRACT: In the seminiferous tubules of mouse testes, a population of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha 1 (GFRα1)-positive spermatogonia harbors the stem cell functionality and supports continual spermatogenesis, likely independent of asymmetric division or definitive niche control. Here, we show that activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes spermatogonial differentiation and reduces the GFRα1⁺ cell pool. We further discovered that SHISA6 is a cell-autonomous Wnt inhibitor that is expressed in a restricted subset of GFRα1⁺ cells and confers resistance to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Shisa6⁺ cells appear to show stem cell-related characteristics, conjectured from the morphology and long-term fates of T (Brachyury)⁺ cel

SUBMITTER: Tokue M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5355566 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature