Production of fertile offspring from genetically infertile male mice

摘要: A number of recessive autosomal genes cause male infertility. Male mice homozygous for the blind-sterile (bs/bs) and quaking-sterile (qk/qk) gene mutations are sterile, because they either do not produce any spermatozoa or only a few abnormal spermatozoa. Mice lacking cyclic AMP responsive-element modulator sterile due to failure spermiogenesis. All these mice, however, able fertile offspring when their round spermatids injected into oocytes normal females. This implies that genetic epigenetic elements necessary syngamy embryonic development established in animals, even though spermatogenic cells destined die (bs/bs qk/qk) programmed undergo apoptosis (cyclic modulator-null) without becoming functional