Gene expression profile of testes from three mouse strains, AKR/N, C57BL/6 and MRL/MpJ+/+

Cryptorchidism and scrotal heating result in abnormal spermatogenesis but the mechanism(s) proscribing this temperature sensitivity are unknown. It was previously reported that the AKR/N or MRL/MpJ-+/+ mouse testis is more heat resistant than the testis from the C57BL/6 strain. We have attempted to probe into the mechanism(s) involved in heat sensitivity by examining global gene expression profiles of normal and heat-treated testes from C57BL/6, AKR/N and MRL/MpJ-+/+ mice by microarray analysis. In the normal C57BL/6 testis, 415 and 416 transcripts were differentially expressed (at least two-fold higher or lower) when compared to the normal AKR/N and MRL/MpJ-+/+ testis, respectively. The AKR/N and MRL/MpJ-+/+ strains revealed 268 differentially expressed transcripts between them. There were 231 transcripts differentially expressed between C57BL/6 and two purported heat-resistant strains, AKR/N and MRL/MpJ-+/+. Total RNA of testes from 3 different strains of mice, C57BL/6, AKR/N and MRL/MpJ-+/+, were analyzed using microarray 430.20 chip. All mice were 8 weeks old, 2 mice/strain.