A testis-specific serine protease, Prss41/Tessp-1, is necessary for the progression of meiosis during murine in vitro spermatogenesis.

The function of protease during male meiosis has not been well studied. We previously cloned and characterized four testis-specific serine proteases in the mouse testis. One of the proteases, Prss41/Tessp-1, was expressed in the germ and Sertoli cell. This time, to examine the involvement of Prss41/Tessp-1 in spermatogenesis, we conducted the organ culture of testis fragments in the presence of the anti-Prss41/Tessp-1 antibody. Because in the Sertoli cell, the Prss41/Tessp-1 protein was mostly associated with the membrane of intracellular organelles by glycosylphosphatidylinositol, the antibody was expected to affect Prss41/Tessp-1 at the plasma membrane of spermatogonia. By adding the antibody, the number of germ cells was decreased in some seminiferous tubules. The marker genes expression strongly suggested that meiosis was arrested at spermatogonia, and the number of apoptotic germ cells increased by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. These data indicated that Prss41/Tessp-1 was necessary for the progression of meiosis at the stage of spermatogonia during in vitro spermatogenesis. Together with our previous study, the current results suggest that the Prss/Tessp proteases are important for the progression of meiosis at each stage.