Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and infertility in mice deficient for miR-34b/c and miR-449 loci.

ABSTRACT: Male fertility requires the continuous production of high quality motile spermatozoa in abundance. Alterations in all three metrics cause oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, the leading cause of human sub/infertility. Post-mitotic spermatogenesis inclusive of several meiotic stages and spermiogenesis (terminal spermatozoa differentiation) are transcriptionally inert, indicating the potential importance for the post-transcriptional microRNA (miRNA) gene-silencing pathway therein. We found the expression of miRNA generating enzyme Dicer within spermatogenesis peaks in meiosis with critical functions in spermatogenesis. In an expression screen we identified two miRNA loci of the miR-34 family (miR-34b/c and miR-449) that are specifically and highly expressed in post-mitotic male germ cells. A reduc

SUBMITTER: Comazzetto S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4199480 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature