Objective: To investigate the expression characteristic of the Daxx gene in the mouse testis and its role in spermatogenesis.
Methods: Real-time PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence were used in examining the expression characteristics of DAXX in the testis tissue from wild-type, Sertoli cell-specific androgen receptor knockout (SCARKO) and androgen receptor knockout (ARKO) mice at different postnatal weeks .
Results: The Daxx gene was highly expressed in the testis tissue and mainly in the nuclei of the wild-type mice at 4 postnatal weeks. Compared with the wild-type, the ARKO mice showed a markedly decreased expression of DAXX (0.299±0.026), which displayed a polar distribution in the spermatogenic cells (0.853±0.058) and exhibited no significant difference in the SCARKO mice (1.000±0.015).
Conclusions: The Daxx gene expression is the highest in the middle-stage development of the mouse testis, significantly decreased in ARKO mice as compared with the wild-type, and its location influenced by specific AR knockout in Sertoli cells. DAXX may be involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis in mice.
目的: 研究死亡结构域相关蛋白（Daxx）基因在小鼠睾丸精子发生过程中的表达特征，初步探讨其在生精过程中的作用。方法: 通过实时荧光定量PCR(qPCR)、Western印迹及免疫荧光等方法检测Daxx在不同周龄野生型小鼠睾丸组织以及成年睾丸支持细胞雄激素受体特异性敲除(SCARKO)和雄激素受体敲除(ARKO)小鼠睾丸中的表达特征。结果: qPCR、Western印迹和免疫荧光结果表明，Daxx基因在出生4周后小鼠睾丸中高表达，且主要定位于细胞核；与野生型小鼠相比，SCARKO小鼠睾丸中DAXX的表达差异不显著(0.853±0.058 vs 1.000±0.015)，但在生精细胞细胞核中呈极性分布;DAXX在ARKO小鼠睾丸表达显著降低(0.299±0.026 vs 1.000±0.015, P< 0.01)。结论 ： Daxx基因在小鼠睾丸发育中期时表达最高。ARKO小鼠中DAXX的表达与野生型相比显著降低，睾丸支持细胞中AR基因特异性敲除影响DAXX定位。DAXX可能参与调控小鼠的精子发生过程。.
Keywords: death domain associated protein (Dxxx) gene; mouse; spermatogenesis; testis.