期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2002
卷号:99
期号:11
页码:7524-7529
DOI:10.1073/pnas.072207299
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:Disruption of spermatogenesis found in azoospermia and oligozoospermia is thought to be of primarily genetic origin. Sl/Sld mutant mice offer a model system in which lack of transmembrane type c-kit ligand (KL2) expression on the somatic Sertoli cell surface results in disruption of spermatogenesis. We investigated the ability of adeno-, adeno-associated-, retro-, and lentiviral vectors to transduce Sertoli cells and found that transduction with either adeno- or lentiviral vectors led to reporter gene expression for more than 2 mo after testicular tubule injection. Because adenoviral vectors showed toxicity, lentiviral vectors were used to express the c-kit ligand in Sl/Sld Sertoli cells. Restoration of spermatogenesis was observed in all recipient testes. Furthermore, the sperm collected from recipient testes were able to generate normal pups after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. None of the offspring carried the transgene, suggesting the inability of lentiviral vectors to infect spermatogenic cells in vivo. We propose that lentiviral vectors can be used for gene therapy of male infertility without the risk of germ-line transmission.