Objective: To study the expression and localization of ATP50 by construction of ATP50-pEYFP-N1 in primary cultured mouse Leydig cells.
Methods: Primary cultured mouse Leydig cells were confirmed by 3B-HSD staining. ATP50 was cloned into pEYFP-N1 between Bam HI and Eco RI sites. Cell-transfection and living-cell fluorescence imaging microscopy were employed to investigate the sub-cellular localization of YFP-ATP50 in TM3 mouse Leydig cells.
Results: ATP50 green fluorescent protein was well co-localized with red fluorescence mitochondrion marker-Mitotracker in TM3 mouse Leydig cells.
Conclusion: ATP50 was expressed in primary cultured mouse Leydig cells. The fluorescent expression vector of ATP50 was constructed successfully and YFP-ATP50 was located in mitochondria in TM3 mouse Leydig cells, which provided a useful clue for further research on the steroidogenesis dysfunction in aging males.