Fam170a deficiency causes male infertility by impairing histone-to-protamine exchange during mouse spermiogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Chromatin remodeling, which involves the histone-to-protamine exchange process during spermiogenesis, is crucial for sperm nuclear condensation and male fertility. However, the key regulators and underlying molecular mechanisms involved in this process remain largely unexplored. In this study, we discovered that deficiency in the family with sequence similarity 170 member A (Fam170a) led to abnormal sperm nuclear morphology and male infertility in mice, mirroring the observation of very low Fam170a transcription levels in sperm of infertile men with teratozoospermia. Further investigation revealed that Fam170a plays a significant role in the histone-to-protamine chromatin remodeling process. This was evidenced by the earlier core histone removal, accelerated translation and degradation of

SUBMITTER: Cheng J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11760970 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature