Register      Login
Reproduction, Fertility and Development Reproduction, Fertility and Development Society
Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effect of donor age on success of spermatogenesis in feline testis xenografts

Yeunhee Kim A , Vimal Selvaraj A , Budhan Pukazhenthi B and Alexander J. Travis A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

B Department of Reproductive Sciences, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA.

C Corresponding author. Email: ajt32@cornell.edu

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 19(7) 869-876 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD07056
Submitted: 21 March 2007  Accepted: 19 July 2007   Published: 6 September 2007

Abstract

Ectopic xenografting of ‘donor’ feline testicular tissue into a ‘recipient’ immunodeficient mouse is a promising tool to preserve the male genome from genetically valuable felids. To define parameters under which the technique can succeed, we compared the effect of donor age on xenograft spermatogenesis among four age groups of domestic cats (Felis catus; age range 8 weeks to 15 months). In all cases, fresh tissue was grafted into castrated mice and collected 10, 30 and 50 weeks later. The percentage of xenografts recovered decreased as donor age increased. Mature testicular spermatozoa were observed in xenografts from the 8 and 9–16 week age groups; only a single 7-month-old donor produced elongating spermatids and xenografts from donors ≥ 8 months of age degenerated. Seminal vesicle weight, an indicator of bioactive testosterone, was not significantly different between donors aged 8 weeks to 7 months and controls, suggesting that xenograft Leydig cells were ultimately functional even in the 5–7 month age group. Regardless of donor age, production of mature spermatozoa from xenografts was markedly delayed compared with controls. Comparison of xenografts that produced sperm with normal controls revealed a decrease in tubule cross-sections having post-meiotic germ cells. Together, these results indicate that the maximum practical donor age was just before the onset of puberty and that even successful xenografts had abnormalities in spermatogenesis.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank Colonial Veterinary Hospital, Ithaca, NY, USA, and Dr Leslie D. Appel and Marla Hirch of Shelter Outreach Services, Ithaca, NY, USA, for providing testis specimens from routine castrations. The authors also thank Dr Ina Dobrinski (University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA, USA) for her thoughtful comments on the manuscript. This work was supported, in part, by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation (AJT, BP) and additionally by the Baker Institute.


References

Bajpai, M. , Gupta, G. , and Setty, B. (1998). Changes in carbohydrate metabolism of testicular germ cells during meiosis in the rat. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 138, 322–327.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Ravindranath N., Dettin L., and Dym M. (2003). Mammalian testes: structure and fuction. In ‘Introduction to Mammalian Reproduction’. (Ed. D. Tulsiani.) pp. 1–19. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Boston.)

Ryu, B.-Y. , Orwig, K. E. , Avarbock, M. R. , and Brinster, R. L. (2003). Stem cell and niche development in the postnatal rat testis. Dev. Biol. 263, 253–263.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Setchell B. P. (1978). Endocrinology of the testis. In ‘The Mammalian Testis’. (Ed. C. A. Finn.) pp. 109–180. (Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY.)

Shinohara, T. , Inoue, K. , Ogonuki, N. , Kanatsu-Shinohara, M. , and Miki, H. , et al. (2002). Birth of offspring following transplantation of cryopreserved immature testicular pieces and in-vitro microinsemination. Hum. Reprod. 17, 3039–3045.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Shinohara, T. , Kato, M. , Takehashi, M. , Lee, J. , Chuma, S. , Nakatsuji, N. , Kanatsu-Shinohara, M. , and Hirabayashi, M. (2006). Rats produced by interspecies spermatogonial transplantation in mice and in vitro microinsemination. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 13 624–13 628.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Snedaker, A. K. , Honaramooz, A. , and Dobrinski, I. (2004). A game of cat and mouse: xenografting of testis tissue from domestic kittens results in complete cat spermatogenesis in a mouse host. J. Androl. 25, 926–930.
PubMed |

Tsutsui, T. , Kuwabara, S. , Kuwabara, K. , Kugota, Y. , Kinjo, T. , and Hori, T. (2004). Development of spermatogenic function in the sex maturation process in male cats. J. Vet. Med. Sci. 66, 1125–1127.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Zeng, W. , Avelar, G. F. , Rathi, R. , Franca, L. R. , and Dobrinski, I. (2006). The length of the spermatogenic cycle is conserved in porcine and ovine testis xenografts. J. Androl. 27, 527–533.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |