evaluation of cats per gene expression in mouse testis at different ages

introduction: recently, a novel gene was cloned and characterized named catsper, which codes for a unique ca2+ channel that is expressed excludively in the testis. it has crucial role in sperm motility, sperm penetration into the ovum and ultimately male fertility. in the present study, we have evaluated the expression of this gene at different ages of mouse by semi-quantitative rt-pcr. material and methods: total rna was extracted from testis of mouse using rnx plus solution. reverse transcription was done by oligo dt and mmlvenzyme. cdnas were amplified in pcr reaction for both catsper and ?2m (as an internal control) genes. after gel electrophoresis, intensity of signa lfor each band was quantified by labimage software. results: 1) there was no d expression of catsper gene in mouse testis of 1 day, 1 week and 2 weeks (pre-mature group) of age; 2) expression of catsper began with the age of three weeks with a gradual increase till two months of age and a gradual slight decrease in older age groups; however, the observed pattern of expression appeared not to be statistically significant (p=0.592). conclusion: these results confirm previous data; that is there is a link between expression of catsper and fertilization in mouse. the results further reveal a link between catsper expression profile and the age of mouse in terms of sexual maturity.