Wilms’ tumour 1 (WT1) negatively regulates the expression of connexin 43 via a non-canonical Wnt signalling pathway in cultured bovine Sertoli cells
Xue Wang A * , Ziming Wang A * , S. O. Adeniran A , Fushuo Huang A , Mingjun Ma A , Han Zhang A , Xiaoyu Li A , Peng Zheng A and Guixue Zhang
A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, No. 600 Changjiang Street, Xiangfang District, 150030 Harbin, PR China.
B Corresponding author. Email: Gxzhang@neau.edu.cn
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 32(5) 522-530 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD19088
Submitted: 13 March 2019 Accepted: 11 September 2019 Published: 6 February 2020
Abstract
The gap junction protein connexin (Cx) 43 between adjacent Sertoli cells (SCs) is the main testicular factor regulating the growth and development of SCs, and plays a vital role in controlling cell differentiation and maturation. However, the endogenous testicular factors that regulate Cx43 and the downstream signalling pathways that mediate Cx43-dependent SC differentiation are unclear. In this study, high-purity SCs were isolated from newborn calves’ testes by differential adherence. The SCs were then cultured in vitro and treated with short interference RNA to knockdown endogenous Wilms’ tumour 1 (WT1). In WT1-knockdown SCs, Cx43 expression was upregulated. To elucidate the intracellular signalling mechanism of Cx43 in the differentiation and maturation of immature SCs, SCs were treated simultaneously with non-canonical Wnt signalling inhibitors CCG-1423 and GO-6983; in these SCs, Cx43 expression was upregulated. Together, these data indicate that WT1 negatively regulates the expression of Cx43 produced from SCs via a non-canonical Wnt signalling pathway in cultured bovine SCs.
Additional keywords: freshly isolated SCs, differentiation, non-canonical Wnt signalling inhibitors, WT1-knockdown.
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