Project description:Testis-specific transcript 10 (Tex10) is highly expressed in the testis, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and primordial germ cells (PGCs). We previously generated a Tex10 knockout mouse model demonstrating its critical roles in ESC pluripotency and preimplantation development. Here, using conditional knockout mice and dTAG-degron ESCs, we show Tex10 is required for spermatogenesis and ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation. Specifically, Tex10-null spermatocytes arrest at metaphase I, compromising round spermatid formation. Tex10 depletion and overexpression compromise and enhance ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation, respectively. Mechanistically, bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that Tex10 depletion downregulates genes involved in pluripotency, PGC development, and spermatogenesis while upregulating genes promoting somatic programs. Chromatin occupancy study reveals that Tex10 binds to H3K4me3-marked promoters of Psmd3 and Psmd7, negative regulators of Wnt signaling, and activates their expression, thereby restraining Wnt signaling. Our study identifies Tex10 as a previously unappreciated factor in spermatogenesis and PGC development, offering potential therapeutic insights for treating male infertility.
Project description:Testis-specific transcript 10 (Tex10) is highly expressed in the testis, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and primordial germ cells (PGCs). We previously generated a Tex10 knockout mouse model demonstrating its critical roles in ESC pluripotency and preimplantation development. Here, using conditional knockout mice and dTAG-degron ESCs, we show Tex10 is required for spermatogenesis and ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation. Specifically, Tex10-null spermatocytes arrest at metaphase I, compromising round spermatid formation. Tex10 depletion and overexpression compromise and enhance ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation, respectively. Mechanistically, bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that Tex10 depletion downregulates genes involved in pluripotency, PGC development, and spermatogenesis while upregulating genes promoting somatic programs. Chromatin occupancy study reveals that Tex10 binds to H3K4me3-marked promoters of Psmd3 and Psmd7, negative regulators of Wnt signaling, and activates their expression, thereby restraining Wnt signaling. Our study identifies Tex10 as a previously unappreciated factor in spermatogenesis and PGC development, offering potential therapeutic insights for treating male infertility.
Project description:Testis-specific transcript 10 (Tex10) is highly expressed in the testis, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and primordial germ cells (PGCs). We previously generated a Tex10 knockout mouse model demonstrating its critical roles in ESC pluripotency and preimplantation development. Here, using conditional knockout mice and dTAG-degron ESCs, we show Tex10 is required for spermatogenesis and ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation. Specifically, Tex10-null spermatocytes arrest at metaphase I, compromising round spermatid formation. Tex10 depletion and overexpression compromise and enhance ESC-to-PGCLC differentiation, respectively. Mechanistically, bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that Tex10 depletion downregulates genes involved in pluripotency, PGC development, and spermatogenesis while upregulating genes promoting somatic programs. Chromatin occupancy study reveals that Tex10 binds to H3K4me3-marked promoters of Psmd3 and Psmd7, negative regulators of Wnt signaling, and activates their expression, thereby restraining Wnt signaling. Our study identifies Tex10 as a previously unappreciated factor in spermatogenesis and PGC development, offering potential therapeutic insights for treating male infertility.
Project description:Purpose: Many young adults are in a state of stress due to social and psychological pressures, which may result in male reproductive dysfunction. To provide new insight into this phenomenon, we investigated the relationship between pathological changes in rat spermatogenic cells and the expression of genes specific to spermatogenic cell types under different stress conditions. Methods: After establishing rat stress models of different time durations, we observed pathological changes in testicular tissues through haematoxylin and eosin staining, and analysed gene expression in spermatogenic cells by RNA-seq, bioinformatic analysis, and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR).Three testicular samples were taken from each group to construct 12 cDNA libraries. For each sample, 3 μg RNA was used as the starting material. Ribosomal RNA was removed using the Epicentre Ribo-Zero™ Gold kit (Rat) (Epicentre, an Illumina company, Madison, WI, USA). Results:Compared with the control group, there were 1,194 DEGs in the 3-day RS+IS group , including 455 upregulated genes and 739 downregulated genes , 1,774 DEGs in the 14-day RS+IS group including 1,124 upregulated genes and 650 downregulated genes, and 2,267 DEGs in the 21-day RS+IS group including 1,366 upregulated genes and 901 downregulated genes. Mean-while, some same expression patterns were observed in three phenotypes.After comparison with single-cell sequencing data, 349 DEGs of spermatogenic cells at different developmental stages were found. Conclusions: Our study suggest that chronic psychosomatic stress can affect the spermatogenic transcriptome of the testes, leading to a significant change in the expression of the spermatogenic genes. At the same time, histopathological and immunohistochemical results showed that chronic stress may lead to pathological changes in spermatogenic cells and to a significant decrease in key regulatory proteins
Project description:Super-enhancers (SEs) are large clusters of transcriptional enhancers that are co-occupied by multiple lineage specific transcription factors driving expression of genes that define cell identity. In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), SEs are highly enriched for Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog in the enhanceosome assembly and express enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). We sought to dissect the molecular control mechanism of SE activity and eRNA transcription for pluripotency and reprogramming. Starting from a protein interaction network surrounding Sox2, a key pluripotency and reprogramming factor that guides the ESC-specific enhanceosome assembly and orchestrates the hierarchical transcriptional activation during the final stage of reprogramming, we discovered Tex10 as a novel pluripotency factor that is evolutionally conserved and functionally significant in ESC self-renewal, early embryo development, and reprogramming. Tex10 is enriched at SEs in a Sox2-dependent manner and coordinates histone acetylation and DNA demethylation of SEs. Our study sheds new light on epigenetic control of SE activity for cell fate determination. Genome binding/occupancy profiling of Tex10 was performed in mouse embryonic stem cells by ChIP sequencing.
Project description:Super-enhancers (SEs) are large clusters of transcriptional enhancers that are co-occupied by multiple lineage specific transcription factors driving expression of genes that define cell identity. In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), SEs are highly enriched for Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog in the enhanceosome assembly and express enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). We sought to dissect the molecular control mechanism of SE activity and eRNA transcription for pluripotency and reprogramming. Starting from a protein interaction network surrounding Sox2, a key pluripotency and reprogramming factor that guides the ESC-specific enhanceosome assembly and orchestrates the hierarchical transcriptional activation during the final stage of reprogramming, we discovered Tex10 as a novel pluripotency factor that is evolutionally conserved and functionally significant in ESC self-renewal, early embryo development, and reprogramming. Tex10 is enriched at SEs in a Sox2-dependent manner and coordinates histone acetylation and DNA demethylation of SEs. Our study sheds new light on epigenetic control of SE activity for cell fate determination. RNA sequencing analysis was performed in mouse embryonic stem cells with Luciferase and Tex10 knockdown. RNA-seq Experiments were carry out in two biological replicates.