Figure 7.

AAV8-Lhcgr restarts sexual development and rescues spermatogenesis in adult Lhcgr-deficient mice

(A) Experimental overview of the in vivo studies.

(B) Quantitative RT-PCR was used to quantify Lhcgr mRNA transcripts in testis tissues from Lhcgr^+/+, Lhcgr^+/−, and Lhcgr^−/− mice injected with PBS or AAV8-Lhcgr (n = 4). β-actin was used for normalization.

(C) The concentrations of serum testosterone were analyzed in Lhcgr^+/+, Lhcgr^+/−, and Lhcgr^−/− mice injected with PBS or AAV8-Lhcgr (n = 4).

(D) The concentrations of intratesticular testosterone were analyzed in Lhcgr^+/+ (n = 5), Lhcgr^+/− (n = 4), and Lhcgr^−/− mice injected with PBS (n = 5) or AAV8-Lhcgr (n = 5).

(E) The concentrations of serum dihydrotestosterone testosterone were analyzed in Lhcgr^−/− mice injected with PBS or AAV8-Lhcgr (n = 4).

(F and G) Representative photographs of the external and internal genitalia of mice from the four groups (n = 4). Arrows (F) and arrowheads (G) indicate the testes. Scale bar: 1 cm.

(H) Representative light micrographs of testis sections from four groups (n = 4). Arrows indicate Leydig cells and arrowheads indicate full spermatogenesis in the testis. Scale bars: 100 μm.

(I–K) The sperm counts (I), proportions of sperm with motility (J), and progressive motility (K) were analyzed (Lhcgr^+/+ [n = 5], Lhcgr^+/− [n = 4], and Lhcgr^−/− mice injected with PBS [n = 4] or AAV8-Lhcgr [n = 4]). Data are represented by boxplots, and whiskers show the minimum to maximum values. ∗p < 0.05; ∗∗p < 0.01; ∗∗∗p < 0.001; ns, not significant.