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About the Authors:
Ya-Yun Wang
Contributed equally to this work with: Ya-Yun Wang, Ying-Hung Lin, Yi-No Wu
Affiliations Department of Chemistry, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Ying-Hung Lin
Contributed equally to this work with: Ya-Yun Wang, Ying-Hung Lin, Yi-No Wu
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Yi-No Wu
Contributed equally to this work with: Ya-Yun Wang, Ying-Hung Lin, Yi-No Wu
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Yen-Lin Chen
Affiliations Department of Chemistry, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Department of Pathology, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Yung-Chih Lin
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Chiao-Yin Cheng
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Han-Sun Chiang
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Department of Urology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanAbstract
Mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene cause cystic fibrosis (CF) and are associated with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD), which is the major cause of infertility in male patients with CF. However, most Taiwanese patients with CBAVD do not carry major CFTR mutations. Some patients have a single copy deletion of the solute carrier family 9 isoform 3 (SLC9A3) gene. SLC9A3 is a Na+/H+ exchanger, and depleted Slc9a3 in male mice causes infertility due to the abnormal dilated lumen of the rete testis and efferent ductules. Furthermore, SLC9A3 interacts with CFTR in the pancreatic duct and functions as a genetic modifier of CF. However, SLC9A3 function and its relation to CFTR expression in the male reproductive tract in vivo remain elusive. In the present study, we found that CFTR expression was dramatically decreased in the epididymis and vas deferens of Slc9a3 knockout mice. Adult Slc9a3-/- mice showed not only significantly decreased epididymis and vas deferens weight but also increased...