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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 May 11.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Rep. 2020 Apr 14;31(2):107513. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.03.077

Figure 1. Sertoli Rac1 Function Is Required for Proper Adult Testicular Development.

Figure 1.

(A–J) Three-month-old (P90) control Dhh-Cre;Rac1flox/+ (A, C, E, G, and I) and Dhh-Cre;Rac1flox/flox (cKO) (B, D, F, H, and J) testes. (C’), (D’), (I’), and (J’) are higher-magnification images of the boxed regions in (C), (D), (I), and (J).

(A and B) Relative to controls (A), Rac1 cKO testes (B) exhibit smaller tubules with varying numbers of TRA98+ germ cells.

(C and D) Rac1 cKO testes (D) show GATA1 expression in all tubules, in contrast to heterogeneous expression in controls (C). Asterisks indicate tubules containing GATA1+ Sertoli cells.

(E and F) Rac1 cKO testes (F) express AMH at similar levels to controls (E). Asterisks indicate tubules in (F).

(G and H) Rac1 cKO tubules (H) show robust expression of GDNF within Sertoli cells, similar to controls (G).

(I and J) Relative to controls (I), cKO testes (J) show abnormal cytoplasmic localization of AR in Sertoli cells (white arrowheads), but normal nuclear localization of AR in peritubular myoid cells (black arrowheads) and Leydig cells (white arrows). Thin scale bar, 100 μm; thick scale bar, 25 μm.

(K) Average testis weight of P90 control (Rac1flox/flox) males versus cKO males (n = 3 testes for controls and n = 2 testes for cKO, each from independent males).

(L and M) (L) Average tubule cross-sectional area of P90 control (Dhh-Cre;Rac1flox/+) versus cKO tubules (n = 10 tubules each from 3 independent males). (M) Cell counts of SOX9+ cells per tubule in P90 control (Dhh-Cre;Rac1flox/+) versus cKO testes (n = 10 tubules each from 3 independent males).

The data in (K)–(M) are shown as means ± SDs. p values were performed via a two-tailed Student’s t test.

See also Figures S1S3.