[HTML][HTML] Constitutive WNT/CTNNB1 activation triggers spermatogonial stem cell proliferation and germ cell depletion

AA Chassot, M Le Rolle, M Jourden, MM Taketo… - Developmental …, 2017 - Elsevier
AA Chassot, M Le Rolle, M Jourden, MM Taketo, NB Ghyselinck, MC Chaboissier
Developmental biology, 2017Elsevier
The differentiation of germ cells into oogonia or spermatogonia is the first step that
eventually gives rise to fully mature gametes. In the female fetal gonad, the
RSPO1/WNT/CTNNB1 signalling pathway is involved in primordial germ cell proliferation
and differentiation into female germ cells, which are able to enter meiosis. In the postnatal
testis, the WNT/CTNNB1 pathway also mediates proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells
and progenitor cells. Here we show that forced activation of the WNT/CTNNB1 pathway in …
Abstract
The differentiation of germ cells into oogonia or spermatogonia is the first step that eventually gives rise to fully mature gametes. In the female fetal gonad, the RSPO1/WNT/CTNNB1 signalling pathway is involved in primordial germ cell proliferation and differentiation into female germ cells, which are able to enter meiosis. In the postnatal testis, the WNT/CTNNB1 pathway also mediates proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells and progenitor cells. Here we show that forced activation of the WNT/CTNNB1 pathway in fetal gonocytes using transgenic mice leads to deregulated spermatogonial proliferation, and exhaustion of the spermatocytes by apoptosis, resulting in a hypoplastic testis. These findings demonstrate that a finely tuned timing in WNT/CTNNB1 signalling activity is required for spermatogenesis.
Elsevier