Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE38891: Deregulated sex chromosome gene expression with male germ cell-specific loss of Dicer1 (gene array data) GSE38895: Deregulated sex chromosome gene expression with male germ cell-specific loss of Dicer1 (miRNA array data) Refer to individual Series
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing by inhibiting mRNA translation and promoting mRNA decay. DICER1, an RNAse III endonuclease encoded by Dicer1, is required for processing short 21-22 nucleotide miRNAs from longer double-stranded RNA precursors. Here, we investigate the loss of Dicer1 in mouse postnatal male germ cells to determine how disruptions in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may contribute to infertility. Reduced levels of Dicer1 transcripts and DICER1 were confirmed in germ cell knock-out (GCKO) testes by postnatal day 18 (P18). Compared to wild-type (WT) at 8 weeks, GCKO males had no change in body weight, yet showed significant reductions in testis mass and sperm number. Histology and fertility tests confirmed spermatogenic failure in GCKO males. Array analyses at P18 showed 96% of miRNA genes were down-regulated and 37% of protein-coding genes were differentially expressed in GCKO testes. Interestingly, we observed preferential overexpression of genes on the sex chromosomes in GCKO testes, with more than 80% of the genes overlapping those proposed to undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) in the germ cells. Compared to WT, GCKO mice showed higher percentages of cells at early meiotic stages (leptotene and zygotene) but lower percentages at later stages (pachytene, diplotene and metaphase I), providing evidence that deletion of Dicer1 leads to disruptions in meiotic progression. Furthermore, we observed fewer elongating spermatids with proper translational activation of transition protein 2 (Tnp2), protamine 1 and 2 (Prm1 and Prm2) in GCKO testes after step 12-14. Therefore, deleting Dicer1 in early postnatal germ cells causes misregulation of transcripts encoded by genes on the sex chromosomes, impairs meiotic progression and post-meiotic translational control and results in spermatogenic failure and infertility. Total RNA, including miRNAs, were purified from a total of six individual mouse samples. The tissue collected was obtained from wild-type (control; n=3) and Dicer1 germ cell knockout (mutant; n=3) testes on P18.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing by inhibiting mRNA translation and promoting mRNA decay. DICER1, an RNAse III endonuclease encoded by Dicer1, is required for processing short 21-22 nucleotide miRNAs from longer double-stranded RNA precursors. Here, we investigate the loss of Dicer1 in mouse postnatal male germ cells to determine how disruptions in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may contribute to infertility. Reduced levels of Dicer1 transcripts and DICER1 were confirmed in germ cell knock-out (GCKO) testes by postnatal day 18 (P18). Compared to wild-type (WT) at 8 weeks, GCKO males had no change in body weight, yet showed significant reductions in testis mass and sperm number. Histology and fertility tests confirmed spermatogenic failure in GCKO males. Array analyses at P18 showed 96% of miRNA genes were down-regulated and 37% of protein-coding genes were differentially expressed in GCKO testes. Interestingly, we observed preferential overexpression of genes on the sex chromosomes in GCKO testes, with more than 80% of the genes overlapping those proposed to undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) in the germ cells. Compared to WT, GCKO mice showed higher percentages of cells at early meiotic stages (leptotene and zygotene) but lower percentages at later stages (pachytene, diplotene and metaphase I), providing evidence that deletion of Dicer1 leads to disruptions in meiotic progression. Furthermore, we observed fewer elongating spermatids with proper translational activation of transition protein 2 (Tnp2), protamine 1 and 2 (Prm1 and Prm2) in GCKO testes after step 12-14. Therefore, deleting Dicer1 in early postnatal germ cells causes misregulation of transcripts encoded by genes on the sex chromosomes, impairs meiotic progression and post-meiotic translational control and results in spermatogenic failure and infertility.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing by inhibiting mRNA translation and promoting mRNA decay. DICER1, an RNAse III endonuclease encoded by Dicer1, is required for processing short 21-22 nucleotide miRNAs from longer double-stranded RNA precursors. Here, we investigate the loss of Dicer1 in mouse postnatal male germ cells to determine how disruptions in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may contribute to infertility. Reduced levels of Dicer1 transcripts and DICER1 were confirmed in germ cell knock-out (GCKO) testes by postnatal day 18 (P18). Compared to wild-type (WT) at 8 weeks, GCKO males had no change in body weight, yet showed significant reductions in testis mass and sperm number. Histology and fertility tests confirmed spermatogenic failure in GCKO males. Array analyses at P18 showed 96% of miRNA genes were down-regulated and 37% of protein-coding genes were differentially expressed in GCKO testes. Interestingly, we observed preferential overexpression of genes on the sex chromosomes in GCKO testes, with more than 80% of the genes overlapping those proposed to undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) in the germ cells. Compared to WT, GCKO mice showed higher percentages of cells at early meiotic stages (leptotene and zygotene) but lower percentages at later stages (pachytene, diplotene and metaphase I), providing evidence that deletion of Dicer1 leads to disruptions in meiotic progression. Furthermore, we observed fewer elongating spermatids with proper translational activation of transition protein 2 (Tnp2), protamine 1 and 2 (Prm1 and Prm2) in GCKO testes after step 12-14. Therefore, deleting Dicer1 in early postnatal germ cells causes misregulation of transcripts encoded by genes on the sex chromosomes, impairs meiotic progression and post-meiotic translational control and results in spermatogenic failure and infertility.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing by inhibiting mRNA translation and promoting mRNA decay. DICER1, an RNAse III endonuclease encoded by Dicer1, is required for processing short 21-22 nucleotide miRNAs from longer double-stranded RNA precursors. Here, we investigate the loss of Dicer1 in mouse postnatal male germ cells to determine how disruptions in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may contribute to infertility. Reduced levels of Dicer1 transcripts and DICER1 were confirmed in germ cell knock-out (GCKO) testes by postnatal day 18 (P18). Compared to wild-type (WT) at 8 weeks, GCKO males had no change in body weight, yet showed significant reductions in testis mass and sperm number. Histology and fertility tests confirmed spermatogenic failure in GCKO males. Array analyses at P18 showed 96% of miRNA genes were down-regulated and 37% of protein-coding genes were differentially expressed in GCKO testes. Interestingly, we observed preferential overexpression of genes on the sex chromosomes in GCKO testes, with more than 80% of the genes overlapping those proposed to undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) in the germ cells. Compared to WT, GCKO mice showed higher percentages of cells at early meiotic stages (leptotene and zygotene) but lower percentages at later stages (pachytene, diplotene and metaphase I), providing evidence that deletion of Dicer1 leads to disruptions in meiotic progression. Furthermore, we observed fewer elongating spermatids with proper translational activation of transition protein 2 (Tnp2), protamine 1 and 2 (Prm1 and Prm2) in GCKO testes after step 12-14. Therefore, deleting Dicer1 in early postnatal germ cells causes misregulation of transcripts encoded by genes on the sex chromosomes, impairs meiotic progression and post-meiotic translational control and results in spermatogenic failure and infertility. Total RNA, including miRNAs, were purified from a total of six individual mouse samples. The tissue collected was obtained from wild-type (control; n=3) and Dicer1 germ cell knockout (mutant; n=3) testes on P18. One miRNA GCKO sample, M36, was determined to be of poor quality and was excluded from the study; thus, a total of five miRNA samples were analyzed.
Project description:In poultry, in vitro derived primordial germ cells (PGCs) represent an important tool for management of genetic resources. However, several studies have highlighted sexual differences exhibited by PGCs through in vitro steps, which may compromise their reproductive capacities. To understand this phenomenon, we compared the proteome of pregonadal chicken male (ZZ) and female (ZW) PGCs expanded in vitro by quantitative proteomic analysis using a GeLC-MS/MS strategy. The proteins found to be differentially abundant in chicken male and female PGCs indicated their early sexual identity. Many of the proteins up-accumulated in male PGCs were encoded by genes strongly enriched in the sexual chromosome Z. This suggests that the known lack of dosage compensation of the transcription of Z-linked genes between sexes persists at protein level in PGCs, and that this may be a key factor of their autonomous sex differentiation. Male and female PGCs up-accumulated protein sets were associated with differential biological processes, and contained proteins biologically relevant for male and female germ cell development respectively. This study presents first evidence on early predetermined sex specific cell fate of chicken PGCs that will help to understand their sexual physiological specificities and enable more precise sex-specific adaptation of in vitro culture conditions.
Project description:Sexual dimorphism depends on sex-biased gene expression, but the contributions of microRNAs (miRNAs) have not been globally assessed. We therefore produced an extensive small RNA sequencing dataset to analyse male and female miRNA expression profiles in mouse, opossum and chicken. Our analyses uncovered numerous cases of somatic sex-biased miRNA expression, especially in the mouse heart and liver. Sex-biased expression is explained by miRNA-specific regulation, including sex-biased chromatin accessibility at promoters, rather than piggybacking of intronic miRNAs on sex-biased protein-coding genes. In mouse, but not opossum and chicken, sex bias is coordinated across tissues such that autosomal testis-biased miRNAs tend to be somatically male-biased, whereas autosomal ovary-biased miRNAs are female-biased, possibly due to broad hormonal control. In chicken, which has a Z/W sex chromosome system, expression output of genes on the Z chromosome is expected to be male-biased, since there is no global dosage compensation mechanism that restores expression in ZW females after almost all genes on the W chromosome decayed. Nevertheless, we found that the dominant liver miRNA, miR-122-5p, is Z-linked but expressed in an unbiased manner, due to the unusual retention of a W-linked copy. Another Z-linked miRNA, the male-biased miR-2954-3p, shows conserved preference for dosage-sensitive genes on the Z chromosome, based on computational and experimental data from chicken and zebra finch, and acts to equalise male-to-female expression ratios of its targets. Unexpectedly, our findings thus establish miRNA regulation as a novel gene-specific dosage compensation mechanism.
Project description:Hormad1 encodes a protein that contains a HORMA domain, and unlike Mad2, Hormad1 expression is germ cell specific. We discovered that both male and female are infertile, and HORMAD1 has important function in synaptonemal complex formation, sex chromosome inactivation during spermatogenesis and chromosome segregation in meiosis.