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Endocrinology Vol. 142, No. 11 4994-5004
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Reproductive Deficiencies in Transgenic Mice Expressing the Rat Inhibin {alpha}-Subunit Gene

Byung-Nam Cho1,2, Michelle L. McMullen1, Lin Pei3, C. Jeana Yates and Kelly E. Mayo

Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology, and Center for Reproductive Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Kelly E. Mayo, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208. E-mail: k-mayo{at}northwestern.edu

Inhibin is an important modulator of reproductive function at both the endocrine level, through its regulation of pituitary FSH biosynthesis, and at the paracrine and autocrine levels, as an intragonadal regulatory factor. To investigate the in vivo actions of inhibin in FSH regulation and gonadal function, transgenic mice that overexpress the rat inhibin {alpha}-subunit gene were generated. A transgene that includes the mouse metallothionein-I gene promoter (MT-{alpha}) fused to the rat inhibin {alpha}-subunit precursor coding sequences was used to produce three lines of transgenic mice. Transgene mRNA is expressed in numerous tissues, including the pituitary, liver, testis, ovary, and kidney. Inhibin {alpha}-subunit protein was also increased in transgenic pituitary and ovary. Serum inhibin {alpha}-subunit levels are highly increased compared with control mice. Inhibin ßA- and ßB-subunit protein amounts are lower in transgenic ovaries compared with wild type, although serum levels of activin A are not significantly reduced in transgenic female mice. FSH levels are reduced in both male and female transgenic mice, whereas LH levels are increased in MT-{alpha} female mice. MT-{alpha} transgenic females are subfertile and exhibit a 52% reduction in litter size compared with wild-type females. The smaller litter size of MT-{alpha} female mice was correlated with a reduction in the number of oocytes ovulated during a normal cycle. Treatment of the transgenic females with exogenous gonadotropins resulted in an ovulation rate similar to that of stimulated wild-type animals, suggesting that altered gonadotropin levels may be responsible for the decreased ovulation rates. MT-{alpha} transgenic male mice are fertile and sire litters of equivalent size to those sired by wild-type males, despite an approximately 50% reduction in sperm numbers. These results indicate that overexpression of the rat inhibin {alpha}-subunit gene in mice leads to a disruption of the normal inhibin-to-activin ratio and to reproductive deficiencies, and they support the hypothesis that inhibin and activin act to regulate FSH secretion in vivo and are essential for normal gonadal function.




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