Hsp90β1 knockout targeted to male germline: a mouse model for globozoospermia.

Abstract

To study the role of Hsp90β1, an endoplasmic chaperone, we have built a conditional knockout by crossing Hsp90β1(flox/flox) with the Vasa-Cre transgenic line. Spermatozoa deficient in Hsp90β1 could not naturally fertilize oocytes and exhibited large and globular heads with abnormal intermediate pieces, a phenotype reminiscent of human globozoospermia.