Transforming growth factor beta-signaling in dendritic cells is required for immunotolerance to sperm in the epididymis
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PROVIDER: PRJNA484973 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:The epididymis exhibits a less restrictive physical blood-tissue barrier than the testis and, while numerous immunosuppressive factors have been identified in the latter, no mechanisms for epididymal immunotolerance have been identified to date. Therefore, data are currently insufficient to explain how the immune system tolerates the extremely large load of novel antigens expressed on sperm, which become present in the male body after puberty, i.e. long after central tolerance was established. This study tested the hypothesis that TGFβ-signaling in dendritic cells (DCs) is required for immunotolerance to sperm located in the epididymis, and that male mice lacking TGFβ-signaling in DCs would develop severe epididymal inflammation. To test this, we employed adult Tgfbr2ΔDC males, which exhibit a significant reduction of Tgfbr2 expression and TGFβ-signaling in DCs, as reported previously. Results show that Tgfbr2ΔDC males exhibit sperm-specific immune response and severe epididymal leukocytosis. This phenotype is consistent with epididymal loss of immunotolerance to sperm, and suggests that TGFβ-signaling in DCs is a factor required for a non-inflammatory steady state in the epididymis, and therefore for male tract homeostasis and function.
2018-08-08 | GSE118262 | GEO
Project description:The epididymis exhibits a less restrictive physical blood-tissue barrier than the testis and, while numerous immunosuppressive factors have been identified in the latter, no mechanisms for epididymal immunotolerance have been identified to date. Therefore, data are currently insufficient to explain how the immune system tolerates the extremely large load of novel antigens expressed on sperm, which become present in the male body after puberty, i.e., long after central tolerance was established. This study tested the hypothesis that transforming growth factor beta (TGF?) signaling in dendritic cells (DCs) is required for immunotolerance to sperm located in the epididymis, and that male mice lacking TGF? signaling in DCs would develop severe epididymal inflammation. To test this, we employed adult Tgfbr2?DC males, which exhibit a significant reduction of Tgfbr2 expression and TGF? signaling in DCs, as reported previously. Results show that Tgfbr2?DC males exhibit sperm-specific immune response and severe epididymal leukocytosis. This phenotype is consistent with epididymal loss of immunotolerance to sperm and suggests that TGF? signaling in DCs is a factor required for a non-inflammatory steady state in the epididymis, and therefore for male tract homeostasis and function.
| S-EPMC6105693 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The epididymis is an important component of the male reproductive system and a crucial site for sperm maturation. During the process of sperm maturation through the epididymis, the effective payload of SncRNA significantly changes, which may be related to epigenetic modifications. Unfortunately, the N6 Methyladenosine (m6A) modification profile of the epididymis has not yet been established. In this study, the MeRIP seq combined with RNA seq method was used to analyze the m6A modification levels in the head, body, and tail of yak epididymis. It was found that the level of m6A in the epididymis significantly increased, and differentially methylated RNAs (DMRs) in the proximal end of the epididymis were significantly enriched in Gap junction, ErbB signaling pathway, and mTOR signaling pathway, participating in cell communication and sperm maturation processes. In the distal epididymis, DMRs are enriched in Apoptosis, FoxO signaling pathway, PI3K Akt signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway, which are involved in sperm autophagy, oxidative stress, and sperm maturation. In addition, we identified key genes with significant changes in m6A levels but no differences in RNA levels, including YY1 associated factor 2 (YAF2), Fork head box J2 (FOXJ2), and Fork head box O1 (FOXO1), suggesting that these genes are modified by m6A to affect translation processes and participate in sperm maturation. In summary, our study established an m6A map of the epididymis, which is beneficial for further understanding the maturation process of sperm and revealing more information related to male infertility.
2024-06-01 | GSE264337 | GEO
Project description:RNAs present in mature mammalian sperm are delivered to the zygote at fertilization, where they have the potential to affect early development. The biogenesis of the small RNA payload of mature sperm is therefore of great interest, as it may be a target of signaling pathways linking paternal conditions to offspring phenotype. Recent studies have suggested the surprising hypothesis that the small RNA payload carried by mature sperm may include RNAs that were not synthesized during testicular spermatogenesis, but that are instead delivered to sperm during the process of post-testicular maturation in the epididymis. To further test this hypothesis, we characterized small RNA dynamics during testicular and post-testicular germ cell maturation in mice, confirming and extending prior observations that testicular germ cell populations carry extremely low levels of tRNA fragments (tRFs), which only become highly abundant only after sperm have entered the epididymis. We examined the sperm RNA repertoire in greater detail, finding that the majority of 5’ tRNA fragments carry a 2’-3’ cyclic phosphate at their 3’ end, pointing to a role for RNaseA or T-family nucleases in tRNA cleavage in the male reproductive tract. The process of small RNA delivery to sperm can be recapitulated in vitro, as caput epididymosomes deliver small RNAs including tRFs and microRNAs to mature testicular spermatozoa. Finally, to definitively identify the tissue of origin for small RNAs in sperm, we carried out tissue-specific metabolic labeling of RNAs in intact mice, finding that mature sperm carry small RNAs that were originally synthesized in the somatic cells of the epididymis. Taken together, our data demonstrates that soma-germline small RNA transfer occurs in male mammals, most likely via vesicular transport from the epididymis to maturing sperm.
2018-07-15 | GSE112990 | GEO
Project description:Following their production in the testis, spermatozoa enter the epididymis to gain their motility and fertilizing abilities. This post-testicular maturation coincides with sperm epigenetic profile changes that influence the progeny outcome. While recent studies underscored the dynamics of small non-coding RNAs in the maturing spermatozoa, little is known regarding sperm methylation changes and their impact at the post-fertilization level. To map out the sperm methylome dynamics, we purified spermatozoa by FACS from the testis and the different epididymal segments (i.e. caput, corpus and cauda) of CAG/su9-DsRed2; Acr3-EGFP transgenic mice. Reduced-Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS-Seq) performed on DNA from these respective sperm populations indicated that high methylation changes were observed between spermatozoa from the caput vs. testis with 5546 entries meeting our threshold values (q value < 0.01, methylation difference above 25 %). Most of these changes were transitory during epididymal sperm maturation according to the low number of entries identified between spermatozoa from cauda vs. testis.
2022-03-10 | GSE191051 | GEO
Project description:Small RNAs are trafficked from the epididymis to developing mammalian sperm
| PRJNA449691 | ENA
Project description:Sperm small RNAs are implicated in intergenerational transmission of paternal environmental effects. Small RNAs generated by cleavage of tRNAs, known as tRNA fragments (tRFs) or tRNA-derived RNAs (tDRs or tsRNAs), are an abundant class of RNAs in mature sperm, and can be modulated by environmental conditions. The biogenesis of tRFs in the male reproductive tract remains poorly understood. Angiogenin, a member of the Ribonuclease A superfamily (RNase A), cleaves tRNAs to generate tRFs in response to cellular stress. Four paralogs of Angiogenin, namely Rnase9, Rnase10, Rnase11, and Rnase12, are specifically expressed in the epididymis —a long, convoluted tubule where sperm mature and acquire fertility and motility. The biological functions of these genes remain largely unknown. Here, by generating mice deleted for all four genes (Rnase9-12-/-, termed “KO” for Knock Out), we report that these genes regulate fertility and small RNA levels. KO mice showed complete male sterility. KO sperm fertilized oocytes in vitro but failed to efficiently fertilize oocytes in vivo due to an inability of sperm to pass through the utero-tubular junction. Intriguingly, there were decreased levels of fragments of tRNAs (tRFs) and rRNAs (rRNA-derived small RNAs or rsRNAs) in the KO epididymis and epididymal luminal fluid. RNases 9-12 did not show ribonucleolytic activity in-vitro, suggesting that the changes in tRF and rsRNA levels are independent of enzymatic activity of these proteins. Importantly, KO sperm showed a dramatic decrease in the levels of tRFs, demonstrating a role of epididymis-specific Rnase9-12 genes in regulating sperm small RNA composition. Together, our results reveal an unexpected role of four epididymis-specific non-canonical RNase A family genes in regulating fertility and small RNA processing.
2024-12-26 | GSE278291 | GEO
Project description:In order to discover novel small RNAs expressed in mature sperm, we isolated mature sperm from mouse cauda epididymis, comparing with data from adult tesis and uterus. The small RNA fraction (18-40nt) was cloned and sequenced from total RNA of mature sperm, testis and uterus of mice. RNAs extracted from mature sperm, adult testis and uterus were used for high throughput sequencing analysis
2013-01-31 | E-GEOD-38702 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Sperm heterogeneity and DNMT/TET activities do not account for sperm DNA methylation changes observed in the epididymis
| PRJNA789543 | ENA
Project description:In order to discover novel small RNAs expressed in mature sperm, we isolated mature sperm from mouse cauda epididymis, comparing with data from adult tesis and uterus. The small RNA fraction (18-40nt) was cloned and sequenced from total RNA of mature sperm, testis and uterus of mice.
2013-01-31 | GSE38702 | GEO