spermatogenesis

摘要： Objective:Sertoli cells(SCs)provide physical support and material supply for germ cells and participate in the formation of blood-testis barrier.The number of SCs is directly proportional to the number of germ cells.And mature SCs ensure the growth of germ cells and the production of sperm.In this study,we explored the effect and underlying mechanism of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides(LBP)on primary SCs in young rats.Methods:Primary SCs were isolated from the testis of 20-day old rats.The cells were then treated with different concentrations of LBP.Immunocytochemistry was used to detect the expression of Ki67 and the androgen receptor(AR),and western blotting was used to detect the expression of cytokeratin-18(CK-18),AR and phosphorylated Akt(Ser473)in SCs.Results:The number of SCs increased significantly after LBP treatment,and the 100 mg/mL.LBP group had 14%more cells than the control group.The expression of Ki67 in LBP treated groups also increased significantly.LBP inhibited the expression of cytokeratin 18 in SCs.Besides,LBP increased the expression of AR on SCs and promoted the activation of Akt at the ser473 phosphorylation site.Conclusion:LBP promotes the proliferation of immature SCs in young rats and also accelerates their differentiation and maturation.This seems to be associated with activation of the Akt signaling pathway via up-regulation of AR.

摘要： Background:Spermatogenesis is the process by which male gametes are formed from spermatogonial stem cells and it is essential for the reliable transmission of genetic information between generations.To date,the dynamic transcriptional changes of defined populations of male germ cells in pigs have not been reported.Results:To characterize the atlas of porcine spermatogenesis,we profiled the transcriptomes of~16,966 testicular cells from a 150-day-old pig testis through single-cell RNA-sequencing(scRNA-seq).The scRNA-seq analysis identified spermatogonia,spermatocytes,spermatids and three somatic cell types in porcine testes.The functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that these cell types played diverse roles in porcine spermatogenesis.The accuracy of the defined porcine germ cell types was further validated by comparing the data from scRNA-seq with those from bulk RNA-seq.Since we delineated four distinct spermatogonial subsets,we further identified CD99 and PODXL2 as novel cell surface markers for undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonia,respectively.Conclusions:The present study has for the first time analyzed the transcriptome of male germ cells and somatic cells in porcine testes through scRNA-seq.Four subsets of spermatogonia were identified and two novel cell surface markers were discovered,which would be helpful for studies on spermatogonial differentiation in pigs.The datasets offer valuable information on porcine spermatogenesis,and pave the way for identification of key molecular markers involved in development of male germ cells.

摘要： The SRY-related high mobility group(HMG)box(SOX)transcription factors participate in many physiological processes of animal growth,development,and reproduction and are related to spermatogenesis in many species.However,the relationship between SOX and spermatogenesis in Eriocheir sinensis is rarely reported.Here,we studied the role of Es-SOX8 in the spermatogenesis of E.sinensis and its possible regulation mechanism.Immunofluorescence results demonstrated Es-SOX8 signal in both cytoplasm and nucleus of spermatogonia,spermatocytes as well as spermatids,but not in mature spermatozoa.Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed a significant increase in the number of spermatozoa with abnormal nuclear morphology in vivo,described as prominent edges and corners,after the knockdown of Es-SOX8 through RNA interference.This indicated a possible role of Es-SOX8 in the nuclear deformation process in the spermatogenesis of E.sinensis.Analysis of the mRNA levels of Es-bone morphogenetic protein 2(BMP2)in the Es-Sox8 knocked-down testis tissue revealed significantly decreased transcription of Es-BMP2.Chromatin immunoprecipitation results showed the binding of Es-SOX8 protein to the promoter region of Es-BMP2.Thus,Es-SOX8 can directly regulate the transcription of Es-BMP2 by activating the promoter of Es-BMP2 and thus affects the sperm nucleus deformation of E.sinensis.

摘要： Background:Spermatogenesis is an intricate developmental process during which undifferentiated spermatogonia,containing spermatogonial stem cells(SSCs),undergo self-renewal and differentiation to generate eventually mature spermatozoa.Spermatogenesis occurs in seminiferous tubules within the testis,and the seminiferous tubules harbor Sertoli and germ cells.Sertoli cells are an essential somatic cell type within the microenvironment that support and steer male germ cell development,whereas spermatogonia are the primitive male germ cells at the onset of spermatogenesis.While the developmental progression of Sertoli cells and spermatogonia has been well established in mice,much less is known in other mammalian species including pigs.Results:To acquire knowledge of Sertoli cell and spermatogonial development in pigs,here we collected as many as nine ages of Duroc porcine testes from the neonate to sexual maturity,i.e.,testes from 7-,30-,50-,70-,90-,110-,130-,150-and 210-day-old boars,and performed histological and immunohistochemical analyses on testis sections.We first examined the development of spermatogenic cells and seminiferous tubules in porcine testes.Then,by immunofluorescence staining for marker proteins(AMH,SOX9,DBA,UCHL1,VASA,KIT,Ki67 and/or PCNA),we delved into the proliferative activity and development of Sertoli cells and of spermatogonial subtypes(pro-,undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonia).Besides,by immunostaining forβ-catenin and ZO-1,we studied the establishment of the blood-testis barrier in porcine testes.Conclusions:In this longitudinal study,we have systematically investigated the elaborate Sertoli cell and spermatogonial developmental patterns in pigs from the neonate to sexual maturity that have so far remained largely unknown.The findings not only extend the knowledge about spermatogenesis and testicular development in pigs,but also lay the theoretical groundwork for porcine breeding and rearing.

摘要： Mitochondria are important for animals’fertility,and their morphologies and functions during spermatogenesis are un-der investigation.However,the molecular mechanism that regulates the mitochondrial dynamic during spermatogenesis is still un-known.In this study,the cytological features of spermatogenesis were investigated in Larimichthys crocea.In addition,the structure and function of prohibitin(PHB),which is associated with mitochondrial structure and dynamic,was also investigated.The full-length cDNA and protein(Lc-PHB)from the L.crocea phb gene(Lc-phb)contained 1625 base pairs and 271 amino acids,respec-tively.Lc-PHB had a conserved primary structure that resulted in a transmembrane,SPFH(the analogous region of proteins stomat-ins,prohibitins,flotillins and HflK/C),and coiled-coil domains.It was detected at high levels in the muscle,liver,and heart,and at intermediate levels in the testis,gill,and brain.Lc-phb mRNA expression was detected in spermatogenic cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization.An immunofluorescence assay revealed that PHB protein was localized in the mitochondria during spermatogenesis.Specifically,PHB expression was detected in the perinuclear cytoplasm of spermatogonia,spermatocytes,and spermatids in the early developmental stage,and mainly localized on one side of the nuclei in the cytoplasm of spermatids in a middle developmental stage,and finally on the sperm midpiece.Western blotting showed that PHB was located in the extracted mitochondria protein fraction but not in the cytoplasm protein fraction of testes.Conclusively,these results indicated that PHB was expressed in the mitochondria dur-ing spermatogenesis.In addition,the study explained the mitochondrial dynamic during fish spermatogenesis and proposed a possi-ble relationship among PHB,spermatogenesis,and male fertility.

摘要： Spermatogenesis is a complicated and highly regulated male gamete differentiation process that begins with the proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonia to the release of the mature spermatozoa.The autophagy-related gene atg7 has been reported as closely related to spermatogenesis and communication of Sertoli cell-germ cells in mice,including acrosome biogenesis,sperm flagellum development,and ectoplasmic specialization assembly.However,the function of es-ATG7 and its molecular regulatory mechanism during spermatogenesis in Crustacea remain largely unknown.Here,we cloned and identified es-atg7 from the testes of the Chinese mitten crabs Eriocheir sinensis and found that the expression of es-atg7 was relatively high in testes through semi-quantitative RT-PCR.The dynamic localization of es-ATG7 detected by immunofluorescence may convey information about its role in the spermatogenesis of E.sinensis.Furthermore,a knockdown of es-atg7 revealed that the malformed sperm with irregular sperm shape or loose nuclear cup and germ cell apoptosis were increased significantly.Accompanying this,we found an up-regulated expression of es-p53 during spermatogenesis in es-atg7 knockdown groups.Altogether,our results indicate that es-ATG7 plays an essential role during spermatogenesis of E.sinensis,and we demonstrated that es-ATG7 acts as an antagonist for p53-dependent apoptosis induction in this process.

摘要： Kigelia africana is a plant of ivoirian pharmocopae commonly used in infertility treatment. The Kigelia africanawhole fruit extracts are known to improve sperm parameters like density, morphologie and mobility. However, data related to efficiency of different parts of the fruit are lack. The aim of this study was to know the effects of aqueous extracts of the whole Kigelia africana fruit (AP) and of the fruit without the peel (SP) on the sperm parameters and testicular tissue of mice. The phytochemical composition analysis of the SP and AP aqueous extracts of Kigelia africana fruit reveals several secondary metabolites in variable abundance. The sperm densities (Figure 1) of the SP (~78.106 spz/ml ± 2.60) and AP (~96.15 × 106 spz/ml ± 2.44) groups were higher than that of the control (~63.95.106 spz/ml ± 2.93) with a highly significant difference (p Figure 2). However, the percentage of motile spermatozoa was much higher in SP group (~76% ± 5.48%), at least twice as high compared to the control and AP group with a highly significant difference (p s preserve the gonad and enhance spermatogenesis. All together, our data revealed that AP and SP aqueous extracts of Kigelia africana stimulated spermatogenesis, sperm mobility and didn’t affect the gonads. There is however a difference in the effects of the two extracts with better efficacy of AP extracts for increasing sperm number while SP more significantly improves sperm mobility and morphology.

摘要： Spermatogenesis is a highly efficient and intricate process in the testis by which mature spermatozoa are produced daily to maintain lifelong male fertility.Essential to this process are spermatogonia capable of both proliferation and differentiation.Nevertheless,the underlying mechanisms for spermatogonial proliferation and differentiation remain poorly understood.MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are a category of non-coding small RNAs with regulatory functions by binding to the 3’untranslated region(UTR)of the target mRNA.Previous studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are capable of modulating cell proliferation,differentiation and apoptosis,but the roles of individual miRNAs in spermatogonial fate determination remain largely elusive.Here,by using a mouse spermatogonial cell line(GC-1),we investigated the role for miRNA-382 in spermatogonial proliferation.We found that pre-miRNA-382 was expressed in spermatogonia.The luciferase reporter assay demonstrated Kmt5a but not Top1 as a target gene of miRNA-382.Overexpression of miRNA-382 by transfecting a miRNA mimic downregulated Kmt5a at both RNA and protein levels,and further reduced the proliferation and viability of spermatogonia.Knockdown of Kmt5a by RNA interference(RNAi)resulted in a uniform phenotype in spermatogonia.We therefore conclude that miRNA-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting Kmt5a.Our finding extends the knowledge about the regulatory roles of miRNAs in spermatogonia and lays the groundwork for diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.

摘要： It is important to investigate the effects of psychological stress(PS)on ionizing radiation(IR)-induced spermatogenesis dysfunction so that we can understand whether PS modifies testicular toxicity induced by IR and explore the underlying mechanisms of this toxicity in dysfunctional spermatogenesis[1].Here,we use an 56Fe ion beam and chronic restraint on Tp53-heterozygous(Trp53+/-????)male mice to simulate the effects of PS on IR-induced reproductive health,and to detect the underlying mechanisms in the effects of PS responses on IR-induced toxicity in mouse testes.