Dysregulation of acrosome formation network by 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) in infertile sperm
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ABSTRACT: Various environmental factors contribute to dysregulated spermatogenic gene network, abnormal spermatogenesis, and eventually impaired sperm fertility. 8-hydroxyguanine (8-oxoG) is the most common and well-studied oxidative DNA lesion of the four DNA bases and unrepaired 8-oxoG modifications are associated with DNA fragmentation in sperms. However, the molecular effects of 8-oxoG generated in sperm DNA by oxidative stress on spermatogenesis are not entirely understood. Here, we identified one infertile Korean native striped cattle at 6-year old (C14) due to asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia. We compared global concentration of 8-oxoG by reverse-phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (RP-LC/MS), the genomic distribution of 8-oxoG by next-generation sequencing (OG-seq), and expression of sperm proteins by 2-dimensional electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometry (2D/MS) in sperms of C14 with those of normal counterpart (C13). We found that averaged levels of 8-oxoG in C13 and C14 sperms were 0.027% and 0.044% of total dG and 8-oxoG was significantly greater in infertile sperm DNA (p = 0.0028). More than 81% of the 8-oxoG loci were distributed around the transcription start site (TSS) and 8-oxoG harboring 165 genes, including phospholipases, were annotated exclusively into infertile sperm DNA. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and the protein-protein interaction networking revealed that the Golgi apparatus was significantly enriched with the 8-oxoG genes of infertile sperm (q = 2.20E-07). Proteomic analysis verified that acrosome-related proteins including Acrosin-binding protein (ACRBP) and Sperm equatorial segment protein 1 (SPESP1) were 1.6-fold and 2.6-fold down-regulated in infertile sperm, respectively. These results suggest that 8-oxoG formation during spermatogenesis would dysregulate the acrosome-related gene network, causing structural and functional defects of sperm, leading to infertility.
Project description:Spermatogenesis is a crucial biological process that enables the production of functional sperm, allowing for successful reproduction. Proper germ cell differentiation and maturation require tight regulation of hormonal signals, cellular signaling pathways, and cell biological processes. The acrosome is a lysosome-related organelle at the anterior of the sperm head that contains enzymes and receptors essential for egg-sperm recognition and fusion. Even though several factors crucial for acrosome biogenesis have been discovered, the precise molecular mechanism of pro-acrosomal vesicle formation and fusion is not known. In this study, we investigated the role of the insulin inhibitory receptor (inceptor) in acrosome formation. Inceptor is a single-pass transmembrane protein with similarities to mannose-6-phosphate receptors (M6PR). Inceptor knockout mice are infertile due to malformations in the acrosome and defects in the nuclear shape of spermatozoa. We show that inceptor is expressed in early spermatids and mainly localizes to vesicles between the Golgi apparatus and acrosome. We propose that inceptor is an important factor in the intracellular transport of trans-Golgi network (TGN)-derived clathrin-coated vesicles delivering acrosomal cargo in maturing spermatids, and its absence results in vesicle-fusion defects, acrosomal malformation, and male infertility. These findings support our hypothesis of inceptor as a universal lysosomal or lysosome-related organelle sorting receptor expressed in several secretory tissues.
Project description:During the post-meiotic phase of spermatogenesis, transcription is progressively repressed as the nuclei of haploid spermatids are compacted through a dramatic chromatin reorganization involving hyper-acetylation and replacement of most histones with sperm-specific protamines. Although BRDT has been shown to function in transcription as well as histone removal in post-meiotic spermatids, it is unknown whether other BET family proteins play a role. Immunofluorescence of mouse testes revealed BRD4 in a complete ring around the nuclei of spermatids containing hyper-acetylated histones. The BRD4 ring lies directly adjacent to the acroplaxome, or the cytoskeletal base of the acrosome, and does not form in acrosomal mutant mice. ChIP sequencing in round spermatids revealed enrichment of BRD4 and acetylated histone H3 and H4 at the promoters of active genes. GO Term analysis showed that BRD4 and BRDT bind to distinct subsets of spermatogenesis-specific genes. Association of BRD4 with Cyclin T1 decreases as spermatogenesis progresses despite a persistence of association with acetylated H4. Moreover, acetylated histones are removed from the condensing spermatid nucleus in a wave following the progressing acrosome. These data provide evidence for an interesting mechanism in which BRD4 and perhaps acetylated histones are removed from the spermatid genome via the progressing acrosome as transcription is repressed. Single replicates each of Brd4, H3K9me3, H3K9ac, H4K5ac, H4K8ac, H4K12ac, H4K16ac, H4Kac (pan-acetyl antibody), and input in mouse round spermatid cells; input is used to control for local sonication efficiency bias.
Project description:During the post-meiotic phase of spermatogenesis, transcription is progressively repressed as the nuclei of haploid spermatids are compacted through a dramatic chromatin reorganization involving hyper-acetylation and replacement of most histones with sperm-specific protamines. Although BRDT has been shown to function in transcription as well as histone removal in post-meiotic spermatids, it is unknown whether other BET family proteins play a role. Immunofluorescence of mouse testes revealed BRD4 in a complete ring around the nuclei of spermatids containing hyper-acetylated histones. The BRD4 ring lies directly adjacent to the acroplaxome, or the cytoskeletal base of the acrosome, and does not form in acrosomal mutant mice. ChIP sequencing in round spermatids revealed enrichment of BRD4 and acetylated histone H3 and H4 at the promoters of active genes. GO Term analysis showed that BRD4 and BRDT bind to distinct subsets of spermatogenesis-specific genes. Association of BRD4 with Cyclin T1 decreases as spermatogenesis progresses despite a persistence of association with acetylated H4. Moreover, acetylated histones are removed from the condensing spermatid nucleus in a wave following the progressing acrosome. These data provide evidence for an interesting mechanism in which BRD4 and perhaps acetylated histones are removed from the spermatid genome via the progressing acrosome as transcription is repressed.
Project description:The goal of this study was to identify mRNAs in spermatozoa that differ between idiopathic infertile men and proven-fertile men. The rationale is that there are many idiopathic infertile or subfertile men, and that semen parameters cannot reliably distinguish idopathic infertile men from fertile men. Spermatozoa contain thousands of RNAs, and the levels of those RNAs may reflect the extent of normal spermatogenesis and sperm maturation. We hypothesized that we could identify differences between two patient populations that would reflect their clinical fertility status.
Project description:The spermatogenesis process is complex and delicate, and any error in any step may cause spermatogenesis arrested and even male infertility. Through mutation screening of patients with clinical azoospermia, we found a heterozygous site of the same mutation on CEP70. The centrosome protein 70 (Cep70) is involved in the regulation of microtubule assembly and shows a high expression trend during human spermatogenesis, but the specific mechanism of this protein in spermatogenesis is still unknown. Therefore, we deleted Cep70 in mice and founded that the deletion of Cep70 causes abnormal spermatogenesis and leads to male sterility. We found that knockout of Cep70 did not affect the prophase of meiosis I, but led to higher levels of thyroid hormone secretion, male germ cell apoptosis and abnormal spermiogenesis. By TEM and SEM analysis, we found that deletion of Cep70 results in abnormal formation of flagella and acrosome during spermiogenesis. TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic analysis revealed that the absence of Cep70 led to the significantly decrease of proteins associated with the formation of the flagella, head and acrosome of sperm and microtubule cytoskeleton according to the proteomic data. Taken together, our results show that Cep70 is essential for the acrosome biogenesis and flagella formation during spermiogenesis.
Project description:Array-based DNA methylation profiling in peripheral blood leukocytes of 30 infertile men with impaired spermatogenesis as compared to 10 fertile men using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation 450k Bead Chip reveald 471 CpG sites (287 genes) to be differentially methylated between both groups. These CpG loci were significantly enriched for the gene ontology functions MHC class II receptor activity and piRNA binding. The latter was associated with two methylation-sensitive SNPs in the genes PIWIL1 and PIWIL2, respectivly, which showed significant allele distribution skewing in the infertile cohort. 445/471 differentially methylated CpGs were associated with SNPs, but 26 (15 genes) were not genomically templated and included the ENO1, MTA2, BRSK2 and LBX2 genes previously associated with fertility and spermatogenesis. The study identifies surrogate DNA methylation markers for idiopathic infertility in peripheral blood and suggests allele-specific DNA methylation differences at regulatory sites of genes involved in piRNA regulation to be associated with disturbed spermatogenesis. Bisulfite converted DNA of peripheral blood leukocytes from 30 infertile men and 10 fertile men as controls were hybridized to the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation 450k Bead Chip.
Project description:We observed that transcriptional activity and the number of active genes were significantly correlated with the distribution of 8-oxoG in gene promoter regions, as determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and 8-oxoG and RNA sequencing
Project description:We observed that transcriptional activity and the number of active genes were significantly correlated with the distribution of 8-oxoG in gene promoter regions, as determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and 8-oxoG and RNA sequencing
Project description:For a sperm to successfully fertilize an egg, it must first undergo capacitation in the female reproductive tract, and later undergo acrosomal reaction (AR) upon encountering an egg. How premature AR is avoided despite rapid surges in signaling cascades during capacitation remains unknown. Using a combination of KO mice and cell-penetrating peptides, here we show that GIV (CCDC88A), a guanine nucleotide-exchange factor (GEM) for trimeric GTPases, is highly expressed in spermatocytes and is required for male fertility. GIV is rapidly phosphoregulated on key tyrosine and serine residues in human and murine sperms. These phosphomodifications enable GIV-GEM to orchestrate two distinct compartmentalized signaling programs in the sperm tail and head; in the tail, GIV enhances PI3K→Akt signals, sperm motility and survival, whereas in the head it inhibits cAMP surge and premature AR. Furthermore, GIV transcripts are downregulated in the testes and semen of infertile men. These findings exemplify the spatiotemporally segregated signaling programs that support sperm capacitation and the etiology of infertility in men.