@article{e328867107cf42a88f6b5aa4554adad5,
title = "Application of an Ex Vivo Tissue Model to Investigate Radiobiological Effects on Spermatogenesis",
abstract = "The formation of sperm by the testes through the process of spermatogenesis is highly radiosensitive and can be affected by environmental, occupational and therapeutic radiation exposures. In this study, we applied an ex vivo mouse testis organ culture as an experimental model of spermatogenesis to investigate the radiobiological effects and to demonstrate its feasibility as a tool to determine response to complex, modulated radiation fields. This model uses Acr-GFP transgenic mice, which express the marker green fluorescent proteins specific for meiosis to allow observation of functional changes in real-time that can be used to analyze radiation-induced changes in the process of spermatogenesis. Our results showed that the model can accurately reproduce radiation-induced male germ cell toxicity, such as temporary infertility and permanent sterility. Furthermore, using a monochromatic X-ray microbeam, we applied this model to investigate the effects of heterogeneous radiation fields on testis tissue ex vivo. Our model represents a unique application in the field, which offers significant potential for gaining further mechanistic insight into radiation effects on the process of spermatogenesis.",
author = "Hisanori Fukunaga and Kiichi Kaminaga and Takuya Sato and Noriko Usami and Ritsuko Watanabe and Butterworth, {Karl T.} and Takehiko Ogawa and Akinari Yokoya and Prise, {Kevin M.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Dr. T. Imaoka, National Institute of Radiological Science, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology for his useful discussion on the X-ray microbeam experiment. The microbeam work reported here was approved by the Photon Factory Program Advisory Committee (proposal no. 2017P001). Funding was provided to HF by a fellowship from the International Exchange and Research Grant of Marubun Research Promotion Foundation, Japan. Funding Information: Testes were obtained at day 7 postpartum from acrosome Acr-GFP transgenic mice from the RIKEN BioResource Center (Tsukuba, Japan) through the National BioResource Project, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. Female ICR, C57BL/6 (CLEA Japan) or ICR ⨯ C57BL/6F1 mice were mated with male transgenic mice to produce pups. These mice express the green fluorescent protein (GFP) marker specific for meiosis, which is extremely useful for monitoring the progress of spermatogenesis (17, 18). All animal experiments conformed to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Institutional Committee of Laboratory Animal Experimentation (Animal Research Center of Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 by Radiation Research Society.",
year = "2018",
month = jun,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1667/RR14957.1",
language = "English",
volume = "189",
pages = "661--667",
journal = "Radiation Research",
issn = "0033-7587",
publisher = "Radiation Research Society",
number = "6",
}