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Severe impairment of permatogenesis in mice lacking the CREM gene

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Abstract

SPERMATOGENESIS is a complex developmental process that occurs in several phases. A large number of genes have been identified that are expressed during spermatogenesis1,2, but the biological significance of many of these is not yet known. We have used gene targeting to selectively eliminate the transcription factor CREM (cyclic AMP-responsive element modulator), which is thought to e important for mammalian spermatogenesis3–5. Male mice deficient for all CREM proteins are sterile, as their developing spermatids fail to differentiate into sperm, and postmeiotic gene expression in the testis declines dramatically. The cessation of sperm development is not accompanied by decreases in the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone or testosterone. Our findings indicate that the CREM gene is essential for spermatogenesis, and mice deficient for this transcription factor could serve as a model system for the study of idiopathic infertility in men.

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Author notes

  1. Günther Schütz: To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology of the Cell I Division, German Cancer Research Center, Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Julie A. Blendy, Klaus H. Kaestner & Günther Schütz

  2. Institute of Reproductive Medicine of the University, Steinfurterstrasse 107, D-48149, Münster, Germany

    Gerhard F. Weinbauer & Eberhard Nieschlag

Authors
  1. Julie A. Blendy
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  2. Klaus H. Kaestner
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  3. Gerhard F. Weinbauer
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  4. Eberhard Nieschlag
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  5. Günther Schütz
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Blendy, J., Kaestner, K., Weinbauer, G. et al. Severe impairment of permatogenesis in mice lacking the CREM gene. Nature 380, 162–165 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/380162a0

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