Table 1.
Contents of mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation enzymes and their gene expressions in the separated preparations of interstitial tissues and seminiferous tubules of the testis
| Liver | Interstitial tissues | Seminiferous tubules | Ratio S/I | DNA microarray S/I | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLCAD | * | 1.0 | 0.679 ± 0.058 | 0.155 ± 0.011 | 0.229 | 0.182 |
| LCAD | * | 1.0 | 0.897 ± 0.064 | 0.007 ± 0.005 | 0.007 | 0.103 |
| MCAD | * | 1.0 | 0.598 ± 0.034 | 0.049 ± 0.012 | 0.081 | 0.079 |
| SCAD | * | 1.0 | 1.320 ± 0.171 | 0.116 ± 0.089 | 0.088 | 0.087 |
| MH | * | 1.0 | 0.514 ± 0.116 | 0.129 ± 0.030 | 0.252 | 0.092 |
| HADH | * | 1.0 | 0.941 ± 0.090 | 0.124 ± 0.027 | 0.132 | 0.050 |
| MTL1 | * | 1.0 | 1.451 ± 0.242 | 0.048 ± 0.022 | 0.033 | 0.055 |
| TFP | * | 1.0 | 4.490 ± 0.329 | 1.636 ± 0.136 | 0.364 | 0.400 |
| CS | n.s. | 1.0 | 2.652 ± 0.080 | 2.878 ± 0.395 | 1.085 | 1.419 |
The quantity of each enzyme in the interstitial tissues and seminiferous tubules of the testis relative to the liver tissues was estimated on the immunoblots (see Figure 5). The relative value of the signals for testicular tissues against those for liver tissues is expressed as the average ± SD. The ratio S/I expresses the ratio of the amount of an enzyme in the seminiferous tubules to that in the interstitial tissues. Asterisk, the values for the interstitial tissues and the seminiferous tubules are significantly different, p<0.05; n.s., values are not significantly different. The intensity of gene expression of each enzyme of mitochondrial β-oxidation in the interstitial tissues and seminiferous tubules was analyzed by DNA microarray. The ratio S/I expresses the gene expression of the amount of an enzyme in the seminiferous tubules to that in the interstitial tissues. Note that the relative amounts and gene expressions of fatty acid β-oxidation enzymes in the seminiferous tubules against the interstitial tissues are about 1/10. VLCAD, very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; LCAD, long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; MCAD, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; SCAD, short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; MH, enoyl-CoA hydratase; HADH, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase; MTL1, 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase; TFP, trifunctional protein; CS, citrate synthase.