Claudin-11 expression increased in spermatogenic defect in human testes  Won Heum Nah, M.Sc., Jae Eun Lee, M.Sc., Hyun Jun Park, M.D., Ph.D., Nam Cheol Park, M.D., Ph.D., Myung Chan Gye, Ph.D.  Fertility and Sterility  Volume 95, Issue 1, Pages 385-388 (January 2011) DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.08.023 Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Expression of claudin-11 in human testes. (A) Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of claudin-11 mRNA in normal and impaired spermatogenesis. ∗Statistically significantly different from normal spermatogenesis by Student’s t-test (P=.015). Error bar = standard deviation (SD). (B) Western blot of human testis claudin-11. In the negative control, normal rabbit IgG was probed. As an internal control, GAPDH was probed. (C) Localization of claudin-11 in human testes. Left: DIC images. Right: confocal images of claudin-11 immunoreactivity (green, arrows) and nuclei (red). Claudin-11 was largely found at the periphery of the seminiferous epithelium where inter-Sertoli TJs develop together with weak cytoplasmic immunoreactivity in the Sertoli cells in normospermatogenesis and hypospermatogenesis. In maturation arrest, claudin-11 was markedly increased at the inter-Sertoli tight junctions. In the Sertoli cell only syndrome, claudin-11 was diffused in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm. Bar = 10 μm. Fertility and Sterility 2011 95, 385-388DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.08.023) Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions