Roles of small RNAs in the effects of nutrition on apoptosis and spermatogenesis in the adult testis

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Malecki, Irek A.
  • Martin, Graeme B.
  • Cozens, Greg
  • Hawken, Penelope A.R.
  • Liang, Guanxiang
  • Guan, Yongjuan
  • Vercoe, Philip E.
  • Guan, Le Luo

• We tested whether reductions in spermatozoal quality induced by under-nutrition are associated with increased germ cell apoptosis and disrupted spermatogenesis, and whether these effects are mediated by small RNAs. Groups of 8 male sheep were fed for a 10% increase or 10% decrease in body mass over 65 days. Underfeeding increased the number of apoptotic germ cells (P < 0.05) and increased the expression of apoptosis-related genes (P < 0.05) in testicular tissue. We identified 44 miRNAs and 35 putative piRNAs that were differentially expressed in well-fed and underfed males (FDR < 0.05). Some were related to reproductive system development, apoptosis (miRNAs), and sperm production and quality (piRNAs). Novel-miR-144 (miR-98), was found to target three apoptotic genes (TP53, CASP3, FASL). The proportion of miRNAs as a total of small RNAs was greater in well-fed males than in underfed males (P < 0.05) and was correlated (r = 0.8, P < 0.05) with the proportion of piRNAs in well-fed and underfed males. In conclusion, the reductions in spermatozoal quality induced by under-nutrition are caused, at least partly, by disruptions to Sertoli cell function and increased germ cell apoptosis, mediated by changes in the expression of miRNAs and piRNAs.

• Date created

  2015

• Subjects / Keywords

  • MIR-98
  • Stem-Cells
  • Microrna Expression Profiles
  • Gene-Expression
  • Hormone
  • Tissues
  • Mature Male Sheep
  • Cell Apoptosis
  • Breast-Cancer
  • Mouse Testes

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3251FZ9V

• License

  Attribution 4.0 International