Effects of EFHD2 protein deletion on tight junction proteins in mouse Sertoli cells / 安徽医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective @#To study the effect of EFHD2 protein deletion in Sertoli cells on Occludin，a component of tight junction protein and the localization and expression of EF-hand domain family member D2 (EFHD2) in mouse testis．@*Methods @#Total RNA and protein were extracted from adult mice's heart ，liver ，spleen ，lung ，kidney， brain and testis tissues．The mRNA and protein levels of EFHD2 in each organ tissue were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot．Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry detected the localization and expression of EF- HD2 in testicular tissues．SiRNA interference was used to reduce EFHD2 in Sertoli cells to detect Occludin protein expression. @*Results @#qRT-PCR showed that the expression of EFHD2 was the highest in the testis．Western blot results showed that the expression level increased in testis tissue．Indirect immunofluorescence and immunohisto- chemistry results showed that the protein was mainly distributed in Sertoli cells and co-localized with cytoskeletal Vimentin，indicating that the protein was expressed in Sertoli cells．After the decrease of EFHD2 protein expres- sion，Occludin protein expression also decreased．@*Conclusion @#The expression of EFHD2 protein in the testis is relatively high，mainly distributed in Sertoli cells of the testis，co-localized with Vimentin，and can affect the nor- mal expression of tight junction protein Occludin．It is suggested that EFHD2 can promote and maintain the junction structure of Sertoli cells and provide a stable microenvironment for spermatogenesis.