scholarly journals Proteomic and metabolomic analyses uncover sex-specific regulatory pathways in mouse fetal germline differentiation†

2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-735
Author(s):  
Yohei Hayashi ◽  
Masaru Mori ◽  
Kaori Igarashi ◽  
Keiko Tanaka ◽  
Asuka Takehara ◽  
...  

Abstract Regulatory mechanisms of germline differentiation have generally been explained via the function of signaling pathways, transcription factors, and epigenetic regulation; however, little is known regarding proteomic and metabolomic regulation and their contribution to germ cell development. Here, we conducted integrated proteomic and metabolomic analyses of fetal germ cells in mice on embryonic day (E)13.5 and E18.5 and demonstrate sex- and developmental stage-dependent changes in these processes. In male germ cells, RNA processing, translation, oxidative phosphorylation, and nucleotide synthesis are dominant in E13.5 and then decline until E18.5, which corresponds to the prolonged cell division and more enhanced hyper-transcription/translation in male primordial germ cells and their subsequent repression. Tricarboxylic acid cycle and one-carbon pathway are consistently upregulated in fetal male germ cells, suggesting their involvement in epigenetic changes preceding in males. Increased protein stability and oxidative phosphorylation during female germ cell differentiation suggests an upregulation of aerobic energy metabolism, which likely contributes to the proteostasis required for oocyte maturation in subsequent stages. The features elucidated in this study shed light on the unrevealed mechanisms of germ cell development.

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1850
Author(s):  
Wen Gao ◽  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Kai Jin ◽  
Yani Zhang ◽  
Qisheng Zuo ◽  
...  

Germ cells have an irreplaceable role in transmitting genetic information from one generation to the next, and also play an important role in sex differentiation in poultry, while little is known about epigenetic factors that regulate germ cell differentiation. In this study, RNA-seq was used to detect the expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) during the differentiation of chicken embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). The results showed that a total of 296, 280 and 357 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) were screened in ESCs vs. PGCs, ESCs vs. SSCs and PGCs vs. SSCs, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that DELs in the three cell groups were mainly enriched in autophagy, Wnt/β-catenin, TGF-β, Notch and ErbB and signaling pathways. The co-expression network of 37 candidate DELs and their target genes enriched in the biological function of germ cell development showed that XLOC_612026, XLOC_612029, XLOC_240662, XLOC_362463, XLOC_023952, XLOC_674549, XLOC_160716, ALDBGALG0000001810, ALDBGALG0000002986, XLOC_657380674549, XLOC_022100 and XLOC_657380 were the key lncRNAs in the process of male germ cell formation and, moreover, the function of these DELs may be related to the interaction of their target genes. Our findings preliminarily excavated the key lncRNAs and signaling pathways in the process of male chicken germ cell formation, which could be helpful to construct the gene regulatory network of germ cell development, and also provide new ideas for further optimizing the induction efficiency of germ cells in vitro.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiexiang Zhao ◽  
Ping Lu ◽  
Cong Wan ◽  
Yaping Huang ◽  
Manman Cui ◽  
...  

AbstractMammalian male germ cell development is a stepwise cell-fate transition process; however, the full-term developmental profile of male germ cells remains undefined. Here, by interrogating the high-precision transcriptome atlas of 11,598 cells covering 28 critical time-points, we demonstrate that cell-fate transition from mitotic to post-mitotic primordial germ cells is accompanied by transcriptome-scale reconfiguration and a transitional cell state. Notch signaling pathway is essential for initiating mitotic arrest and the maintenance of male germ cells’ identities. Ablation of HELQ induces developmental arrest and abnormal transcriptome reprogramming of male germ cells, indicating the importance of cell cycle regulation for proper cell-fate transition. Finally, systematic human-mouse comparison reveals potential regulators whose deficiency contributed to human male infertility via mitotic arrest regulation. Collectively, our study provides an accurate and comprehensive transcriptome atlas of the male germline cycle and allows for an in-depth understanding of the cell-fate transition and determination underlying male germ cell development.


2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (Suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 64-64
Author(s):  
Jillian Guttormsen ◽  
Gerrit J. Bouma ◽  
Frances Bhushan ◽  
Trevor Williams ◽  
Quinton A. Winger

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuiqiao Yuan ◽  
Shenglei Feng ◽  
Jinmei Li ◽  
Hui Wen ◽  
Kuan Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Coordinated regulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing is essential for germ cell development. However, the molecular mechanism underlying that control alternative mRNA expression during germ cell development remains poorly understood. Herein, we showed that hnRNPH1, an RNA-binding protein, is highly expressed in the reproductive system and localized in the chromosomes of meiotic cells but excluded from the XY body in pachytene spermatocytes and recruits the splicing regulators PTBP2 and SRSF3 and cooperatively regulates the alternative splicing of the critical genes that are required for spermatogenesis. Conditional knockout Hnrnph1 in spermatogenic cells caused many abnormal splicing events that affect genes related to meiosis and communication between germ cells and Sertoli cells, characterized by asynapsis of chromosomes and impairment of germ-Sertoli communications, ultimately leading to male sterility. We further showed that hnRNPH1 could directly bind to SPO11 and recruit the splicing regulators PTBP2 and SRSF3 to regulate the alternative splicing of the target genes cooperatively. Strikingly, Hnrnph1 germline-specific mutant female mice were also infertile, and Hnrnph1-deficient oocytes exhibited a similar defective synapsis and cell-cell junction as shown in Hnrnph1-deficient male germ cells. Collectively, our data reveal an essential role for hnRNPH1 in regulating pre-mRNA splicing during spermatogenesis and oogenesis and support a molecular model whereby hnRNPH1 governs a network of alternative splicing events in germ cells via recruiting PTBP2 and SRSF3.


Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Chapman ◽  
D.J. Wolgemuth

A cDNA encoding the murine cyclin B2 (cycB2) was isolated from an adult mouse testis cDNA library as part of studies designed to identify cyclins involved in murine germ cell development. This cycB2 cDNA was then used to examine the pattern of cycB2 expression during male and female germ cell development and in early embryogenesis, and to compare this expression with the previously characterized expression of cycB1. A single 1.7 kb cycB2 transcript was detected by northern blot hybridization analysis of total RNA isolated from midgestation embryos and various adult tissues. Northern blot and in situ hybridization analyses revealed that cycB2 expression in the testis was most abundant in the germ cells, specifically in pachytene spermatocytes. This is in contrast to the highest levels of expression of cycB1 being present in early spermatids. In situ analysis of the ovary revealed cycB2 transcripts in both germ cells and somatic cells, specifically in the oocytes and granulosa cells of growing and mature follicles. The pattern of cycB1 and cycB2 expression in ovulated and fertilized eggs was also examined. While the steady state level of cycB1 and cycB2 signal remained constant in oocytes and ovulated eggs, signal of both appeared to decrease following fertilization. In addition, both cycB1 and cycB2 transcripts were detected in the cells of the inner cell mass and the trophectoderm of the blastocyst. These results demonstrate that there are lineage- and developmental-specific differences in the pattern of the B cyclins in mammalian germ cells, in contrast to the co-expression of B cyclins in the early conceptus.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
J. M. Yoo ◽  
J. J. Park ◽  
K. Gobianand ◽  
J. Y. Ji ◽  
J. S. Kim ◽  
...  

Bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells are capable of transdifferentiation into multilineage cells like muscle, bone, cartilage, fat and nerve cells. In this study, we investigated the capability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from BM into germ cell differentiation in the chicken. Chicken MSCs were isolated from BM of day 20 fertilized fetal chicken with Ficoll-Paque Plus. Isolated cells were cultured in advance-DMEM (ADMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics. Once confluent, cells were subcultured until five passages. The cultured cells showed fibroblast-like morphology. The cells had positive expressions of Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog. Two induction methods were conducted to examine the ability of transdifferentation into male germ cells. In group 1, MSC were cultured in ADMEM containing retinoic acid and chicken testicular extracts proteins for 10 to 15 days. In group 2, MSC were permeabilized by streptolysin O and treated with chicken testicular protein extracts. In both treatment groups, MSC were cultured in ADMEM containing retinoic acid for 10 to 15 days. We found that chicken MSC had a positive expression of pluripotent proteins such as Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and a small population of chicken MSC seem to transdifferentiate into male germ cell-like cells. These cells expressed early germ cell markers and male germ-cell-specific markers (Dazl, C-kit, Stra8 and DDX4) as analysed by reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemistry. These results demonstrated that chicken MSC may differentiate into male germ cells and the same might be used as a potential source of cells for production of transgenic chickens. This study was carried out with the support of Agenda Program (Project No. PJ0064692011), RDA and Republic of Korea.


Author(s):  
Jin Zhang ◽  
Juan Dong ◽  
Weibing Qin ◽  
Congcong Cao ◽  
Yujiao Wen ◽  
...  

AbstractOvol2, a mouse homolog of Drosophila ovo, was identified as a zinc finger transcription factor predominantly expressed in testis. However, the function of Ovol2 in postnatal male germ cell development remains enigmatic. Here, we firstly examined the mRNA and protein levels of Ovol2 in developing mouse testes by RT-qPCR and western blot and found that both mRNA and protein of Ovol2 are continually expressed in postnatal developing testes from postnatal day 0 (P0) testes to adult testes (P56) and exhibits its higher level at adult testis. Further testicular immuno-staining revealed that OVOL2 is highly expressed in the spermatogonia, spermatocytes and round spermatids. Interestingly, our conditional ovol2 knockout mouse model show that loss of ovol2 in embryonic germ cells does not affect fecundity in mice. Our data also show that Ovol1 may have compensated for the loss of Ovol2 functions in germ cells. Overall, our data indicate that ovol2 is dispensable for germ cell development and spermatogenesis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Barchi ◽  
Elisa Innocenzi ◽  
Teresa Giannattasio ◽  
Susanna Dolci ◽  
Pellegrino Rossi ◽  
...  

Endocannabinoids are natural lipid molecules whose levels are regulated by specific biosynthetic and degradative enzymes. They bind to and activate two main cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2), and together with their metabolizing enzymes form the “endocannabinoid system” (ECS). In the last years, the relevance of endocannabinoids (eCBs) as critical modulators in various aspects of male reproduction has been pointed out. Mammalian male germ cells, from mitotic to haploid stage, have a complete ECS which is modulated during spermatogenesis. Compelling evidence indicate that in the testis an appropriate “eCBs tone”, associated to a balanced CB receptors signaling, is critical for spermatogenesis and for the formation of mature and fertilizing spermatozoa. Any alteration of this system negatively affects male reproduction, from germ cell differentiation to sperm functions, and might have also an impact on testicular tumours. Indeed, most of testicular tumours develop during early germ-cell development in which a maturation arrest is thought to be the first key event leading to malignant transformation. Considering the ever-growing number and complexity of the data on ECS, this review focuses on the role of cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 signaling in male germ cells development from gonocyte up to mature spermatozoa and in the induction of epigenetic alterations in these cells which might be transmitted to the progeny. Furthermore, we present new evidence on their relevance in testicular cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umair W. Khan ◽  
Phillip A Newmark

Female germ cells develop into oocytes, with the capacity for totipotency. In most animals, these remarkable cells are specified during development and cannot be regenerated. By contrast, planarians, known for their regenerative prowess, can regenerate germ cells. To uncover mechanisms required for female germ cell development and regeneration, we generated gonad-specific transcriptomes and identified genes whose expression defines progressive stages of female germ cell development. Strikingly, early female germ cells share molecular signatures with the pluripotent stem cells driving planarian regeneration. We uncovered spatial heterogeneity within somatic ovarian cells and found that a regionally enriched FoxL homolog is required for oocyte differentiation, but not specification, suggestive of functionally distinct somatic compartments. Unexpectedly, a neurotransmitter-biosynthetic enzyme, AADC, is also expressed in somatic gonadal cells, and plays opposing roles in female and male germ cell development. Thus, somatic gonadal cells deploy conserved factors to regulate germ cell development and regeneration in planarians.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 823
Author(s):  
Hyeonwoo La ◽  
Hyunjin Yoo ◽  
Eun Joo Lee ◽  
Nguyen Xuan Thang ◽  
Hee Jin Choi ◽  
...  

Mechanistic understanding of germ cell formation at a genome-scale level can aid in developing novel therapeutic strategies for infertility. Germ cell formation is a complex process that is regulated by various mechanisms, including epigenetic regulation, germ cell-specific gene transcription, and meiosis. Gonads contain a limited number of germ cells at various stages of differentiation. Hence, genome-scale analysis of germ cells at the single-cell level is challenging. Conventional genome-scale approaches cannot delineate the landscape of genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic diversity or heterogeneity in the differentiating germ cells of gonads. Recent advances in single-cell genomic techniques along with single-cell isolation methods, such as microfluidics and fluorescence-activated cell sorting, have helped elucidate the mechanisms underlying germ cell development and reproductive disorders in humans. In this review, the history of single-cell transcriptomic analysis and their technical advantages over the conventional methods have been discussed. Additionally, recent applications of single-cell transcriptomic analysis for analyzing germ cells have been summarized.


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