• PMID: 31755150
• Gene Name: CSNK2B
• Condition: Germ cell development arrest, azoospermia
• Association: Associated
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility

Deletion of Ck2? gene causes germ cell development arrest and azoospermia in male mice

Liang QX, Wang ZB, Lei WL, Lin F, Qiao JY, Filhol-Cochet O, Boldyreff B, Schatten H, Sun QY, Qian WP.

OBJECTIVES: In humans, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is a major cause of male infertility. However, the aetiology of NOA is largely unknown. Previous studies reported that protein CK2β was abundantly and broadly expressed in spermatogenic cells. Here, we investigate whether protein CK2β participates in spermatogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we separated spermatogenic cells using STA-PUT velocity sedimentation, analysed the expression pattern of protein CK2β by immunoblotting, specifically deleted Ck2β gene in early-stage spermatogenic cells by crossing Ck2β(fl) mice with Stra8-Cre(+) mice and validated the knockout efficiency by quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting. The phenotypes of Ck2β(fl/Δ) ;SCre(+) mice were studied by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The molecular mechanisms of male germ cell development arrest were elucidated by immunoblotting and TUNEL assay. RESULTS: Ablation of Ck2β gene triggered excessive germ cell apoptosis, germ cell development arrest, azoospermia and male infertility. Inactivation of Ck2β gene caused distinctly reduced expression of Ck2α' gene and CK2α' protein. CONCLUSIONS: Ck2β is a vital gene for germ cell survival and male fertility in mice. CI - © 2019 The Authors. Cell Proliferation Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. FAU - Liang, Qiu-Xia AU - Liang QX AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9884-9675 AD - Department of Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. FAU - Wang, Zhen-Bo AU - Wang ZB AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. AD - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. FAU - Lei, Wen-Long AU - Lei WL AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. AD - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. FAU - Lin, Fei AU - Lin F AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. AD - Center for Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China. FAU - Qiao, Jing-Yi AU - Qiao JY AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. AD - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. FAU - Filhol-Cochet, Odile AU - Filhol-Cochet O AD - INSERM U1036, Institute de Recherches en Technologies et Sciences pour le Vivant/Biologie du Cancer et de l'Infection, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives Grenoble, Grenoble, France. FAU - Boldyreff, Brigitte AU - Boldyreff B AD - KinaseDetect, Krusaa, Denmark. FAU - Schatten, Heide AU - Schatten H AD - Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. FAU - Sun, Qing-Yuan AU - Sun QY AD - State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. AD - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.