Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 30, 2025

A Seminiferous Tubule Squash Technique for the Cytological Analysis of Spermatogenesis Using the Mouse Model
Published on: February 6, 2018
Decreased expression of MRE11 and RAD50 in testes from humans with spermatogenic failure
Minhao Hu1, Lejun Li1, Shuyuan Liu2
1Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 1 Xueshi Road, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China.
Purpose:
To assess testicular mRNA and protein expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 in human azoospermia patients.
Methods:
Patients diagnosed with maturation arrest at the spermatocyte stage (MA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) were recruited through diagnostic testicular biopsy. Patients with normal spermatogenesis were studied as controls. In addition, knockdown of MRE11 and RAD50 was performed in GC-2spd(ts) cells to investigate their roles in cellular proliferation and apoptosis.
Results:
mRNA and protein expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Knockdown of both MRE11 and RAD50 utilized transfection with small interfering RNAs.
Conclusion:
Our findings demonstrated altered expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 in human testes with MA and SCOS, and showed that these alterations might be associated with impaired spermatogenesis. These results offer valuable new perspectives into the molecular mechanisms of male infertility.
Related Concept Videos
Spermatogenesis
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Infertility in Males
Meiosis I
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
Abnormal Proliferation

