Fig. 4: The effect of SscLL3604 and SscLL3605 knockdown on testis tissue blocks.

a, b Temporal mRNA expression levels of SscLL3604 and SscLL3605 were detected by qRT-PCR in testis tissue blocks treated by 3604-siRNA and 3605-siRNA (n = 9). Rpl17 was used as the internal control. c, d The expression level of Sertoli cell marker genes in SscLL3604 and SscLL3605 gene knockdown testis tissue blocks (n = 9). e The expression level of the Leydig cell marker gene in SscLL3604 and SscLL3605 gene knockdown testis tissue blocks (n = 6). ****P < 0.0001 as assessed using two-tailed Welch’s t test analysis. Data in (a–e) are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). n, the number of parallel samples. f Histological observation of SscLL3604 and SscLL3605 gene knockdown testis tissue blocks, each group selected 3 representative images, black arrows indicate the representative phenotypes after siRNA treatment. PSc Primary spermatocytes, SSc Secondary spermatocytes, LC Leydig cell, SC Sertoli cell. Scale bars, 15 μm.