Figure 3.
Testis histopathology and germ cell quantification. (A, B) H&E staining wildtype and 7t/7t testis sections. (C, D) PCNA immunolabeling of lu/lu and lu/7t testis sections. PCNA is a marker of G1 and S phase spermatogonia, which are present near the periphery of the tubules (dark brown staining). Plzf7t/lu (D) and +/+ or Plzf7t/7t testes (not shown) show no sign of progressive germ cell loss after several months of age, in contrast to luxoid testes (C) which show dramatic loss even at 3 months of age. The size bars are 0.1 mm. Asterisks indicate germ cell-depleted seminiferous tubules. (E) Percentage of PCNA positive cells per seminiferous tubule section. Genotypes and ages of the mice are indicated below the graph. Plzf7t/7t testes had an average of 50 ± 7.5, 39 ± 6.18, 36 ± 6.22 and 45 ± 14.84 PCNA+ cells/tubule at 4, 6, 8 and 12 months of age, respectively, similar to 8 month old wildtype (49 ± 9.54) and Plzf7t/lu (51 ± 4.7). Three month old Plzflu/lu testes had 12 ± 20.4.