DTA expression in mTas1r3+ cells lead to male infertility

Abstract

TAS1R taste receptors and their associated heterotrimeric G protein gustducin are strongly expressed in testis and sperm, but their functions and distribution in these tissues were unknown. Using transgenic mouse models, we show that taste signal transduction cascades (mTas1r3-Gnat3-Trmp5) are observed in testis form GFP transgenic mice. It is mTas1rs and mTas2rs, not Gnat3, that was expressed in leydig and sertoli cells. The pattern of mTas1r3 expression was different from that of mTas2r105 expression in seminiferous epithelium. Analysis of the seminiferous epithelium cycle show that both mTas1r3 and mTas2r105 is expressed in the spermatid stage, but mTas2r5 expression is found in spermatocyte stage. Conditional deletion of mTas1r3+ cells leads to male infertility, but do not affect the expression of taste signal transduction cascade during the spermatogenesis. The current results indicate a critical role for mTas1r3+ cell in sperm development and maturation.