Figure 6.

Electroporation partially rescues spermatogenetic processes in adult Stra8-Rnf20^−/− mice with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA

(A) Histological analysis of the seminiferous tubules of the Rnf20^F/F + RNF20, Rnf20^F/F + RNF20+3-MA, Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20, and Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20+3-MA mice after electroporation. Scale bar, 20 μm. (B) Percentages of empty tubes. n = 5 biological replicates, Data are presented as mean ± SEM. ∗∗∗p < 0.001. Statistical analysis was performed with two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test. (C) Histological analysis of the caudal epididymis of the Rnf20^F/F + RNF20, Rnf20^F/F + RNF20 + 3-MA, Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20, and Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20 + 3-MA mice after electroporation. Scale bar, 50 μm. (D) Morphological analysis of the spermatozoa in the Rnf20^F/F + RNF20, Rnf20^F/F + RNF20 + 3-MA, and Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20 + 3-MA mice after electroporation. Acrosomes were stained with PNA (green), and nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar, 5 μm. (E) Sperm concentration of the Rnf20^F/F + RNF20, Rnf20^F/F + RNF20 + 3-MA, and Stra8-Rnf20^−/− + RNF20 + 3-MA mice after electroporation. n = 4 biological replicates, Data are presented as mean ± SEM. ∗∗p < 0.01. Statistical analysis was performed with two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test.