Fig. 2.
Effect of myeloid-selective Usp2 knockout on testicular organogenesis. a, b Morphology (a) and weight (b) of the testis in myeloid-selective Usp2 knockout mice (mKO) and Usp2fl/fl mice (fl/fl). c The outer diameter and thickness of seminiferous tubules. Representative microscopic images (left panels) and quantification of their diameter and thickness (right panels). Yellow bars indicate the wall of the seminiferous tubules. The average thickness of the seminiferous tubule wall at four respective ends of the major and minor axes was calculated. d–g Immunohistochemical staining with antibodies against Ki67 (d), DDX4 (e), MCT1 (f), and Sox9 (g). Representative microscopic images and the density of immune-positive cells are shown in the left and right panels (d–g), respectively. Arrowheads indicate immunopositive cells, and asterisks show seminiferous tubules. Scale bars represent 20 µm. Immunopositive cells were counted in the seminiferous tubules (ST; d, e, g) or in the interstitial regions (IS; f) in five randomly selected microscopic fields for each individual. Data are shown as means ± SD of six (b, c) or five (d–g) mice, with counts of immunopositive cells in each area shown as dots. P values are shown in the graphs (b–g)