Ontogenesis of Ap-2γ expression in rat testes

Searching for useful markers of spermatogonial stem cells and their differentiation, we used rat testes from ages representing different stages of testicular maturation to investigate the expression profile of transcription factor activation protein-2γ (Ap-2γ). The immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical evaluation using Ap-2γ and promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger in combination with sorting of CD9 and CD90 positive cells (undifferentiated spermatogonia) by fluorescence-activated cell sorting was performed. Our experiments revealed that Ap-2γ is detectable in testes of late fetal age and up to 60 days postnatally and is expressed in gonocytes and spermatogonia from late fetal age throughout all maturational stages. Restricted nuclear expression of Ap-2γ to undifferentiated male germ cells was verified by coexpression of Ap-2γ with promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger in sections of paraffin-embedded testes as well as in cells sorted positive for CD9 and CD90 expression. Our study demonstrated clearly that nuclear expression of Ap-2γ is a useful marker for identifying undifferentiated male germ cells, although its functional role is yet to be fully explored.