DMRT1 owner's manual: synchronized installation required to operate

Abstract

The study by Agbor et al. in this issue of Biology of Reproduction provides a novel approach to determine the functions of Sertoli cell and germ cell-expressed Dmrt1.

FIG. 1

A) In wild-type (WT) males, germ cells proliferate and migrate radially from the lumen (L) of the seminiferous tubules toward the periphery. B) In Dmrt1^−/− mutant testis, both proliferation and migration are blocked, and germ cells undergo apoptosis. Dmrt1^−/− Sertoli cells continue proliferation, and their subsequent differentiation is abnormal. C) In Dmrt1^−/−;tg testis, the germ cells do not express DMRT1 and succumb to the same fate as in the Dmrt1-null mutants. The transgenic (tg) Dmrt1 re-expression partially restores the polarity of Sertoli cells and formation of interior lumen. However, the gene expression pattern in Dmrt1^−/−;tg Sertoli cells is not improved and largely resembles that of the Dmrt1-null testis.