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. 2012 Oct 4;7(10):e46359. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046359

Figure 1. GCKO mice show reduced testis weight and sperm number, abnormal sperm morphology and infertility.

Figure 1

(A) Body and testis weights were measured in WT and GCKO males at P22, 5 and 8 weeks (at each time point, n = 5 for WT and n = 5 for GCKO). In comparison to WT, GCKO males had no change in body weight over 8 weeks, yet showed significant reductions in testis weight as early as 5 weeks and remained so at 8 weeks (*both P≤0.004). Values represent the mean ± SEM. (B) In comparison to WT, GCKO epididymal sperm counts revealed significant reductions in sperm number by 8 weeks (**P  = 0.0003). Approximately 80% of WT and less than 10% of GCKO epididymal sperm showed normal head and tail morphologies as represented in the photomicrographs taken at 40x. (C) Fertility testing showed that 4–6 month old GCKO males were unable to sire litters in comparison to littermate controls when mated 3–6 times with 12-week fertile B6CBAF1/J females.