Hsp90b1 knockout targeted to male germline: a mouse model for globozoospermia

To study the role of Hsp90b1, an endoplasmic chaperone, we have built a conditional knockout by crossing Hsp90b1(flox/flox) with the Vasa-Cre transgenic line. Spermatozoa deficient in Hsp90b1 could not naturally fertilize oocytes and exhibited large and globular heads with abnormal intermediate pieces, a phenotype reminiscent of human globozoospermia. (Fertil Steril (R) 2011;95:1475-7. (C)2011 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)