Investigation of ZBTB16 Gene Expression by Bioinformatics Analysis and Immunocytochemistry and Immunohistochemistry Methods in Embryonic Cells Derived From Spermatogonial Stem Cells of Mouse Testis: A Laboratory Study

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) can generate embryonic stem-like (ES-Like) cells, both of which possess the potential for pluripotent stem cells. The gene ZBTB16 (Zinc Finger and BTB Domain Containing 16) plays various roles in signaling pathways, cellular differentiation regulation, and growth. The aim of this research was to identify signaling pathways associated with the ZBTB16 gene using bioinformatics methods and investigate the expression levels of this gene in SSCs and ES-Like cells.

In this experimental study, initially, 100 genes with connections to ZBTB16 were extracted from the protein database and analyzed using relevant software. Subsequently, ES-Like cells were extracted from mouse testicular SSCs and cultured. Then, the expression of ZBTB16 in ES-Like cells and SSCs was examined through immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry staining.

The results indicated that the expression of ZBTB16 was demonstrated in the undifferentiated population of SSCs and ES-Like cells. It was found that deleting ZBTB16 from the gene network could disrupt undesirable signaling pathways since ZBTB16 is involved in enriching specific pathways as a specific transcription factor.

The experimental findings can support the analysis of spermatogonial cell growth in both in vivo and in vitro. Bioinformatics methods, by identifying biological functions that ZBTB16 regulates, have shown that ZBTB16 can be used as a target gene to weaken certain undesirable pathways.