Project description:Spermatogenesis is a complex sperm-generating process involving the mitosis of spermatogonia, meiosis of spermatocytes and spermiogenesis of spermatids. Elucidating the phosphorylation-based regulations should advance our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here we present an integrative study of phosphorylation events in the testis. Large-scale phosphoproteome profiling in the adult mouse testis identified 17,829 phosphorylation sites in 3,955 phosphoproteins.
Project description:Pregnant C3H mice were given tap water (control group) and tap water containing 85 ppm sodium arsenite from gestational day 8 to 18 (arsenic group), respectively. The DNA methylomes of testis of F2 mice were investigated by RRBS method.
Project description:Identification of the embryonic germ cell Meioc-/- transcriptome, MEIOC targets in postnatal testis, and YTHDC2 targets in postnatal testis in mouse
Project description:Spermatogenesis plays an important role in the mammalian testis, involving in the complex processes of mitosis, meiosis, and spermiogenesis. Spermatogenesis may also be disrupted in the absence of the immunological and ‘fence’ functions of the BTB, resulting in male subfertility or infertility. Mice lacking wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) display male reproductive organ defects, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these abnormalities remain unclear. We explored the function of Wip1 in spermatogenesis and fertility by examining differences in the expressed testis proteome and phosphoproteome between Wip1-deficient and wild-type mice using a proteomics approach. 90 proteins and 178 phosphoproteins were differentially regulated between these two groups of mice. These results suggested that proinflammatory cytokines may impair the blood–testis barrier dynamics by decreasing the expression of junction-associated proteins, which effect could be partially responsible for the subfertility and spermatogenesis defects in Wip1-knockout mice.
Project description:The busulfan-treated mouse model showed abnormal testis morphology and reduced sperm number and testis weight. Testicular and sperm damage was most severe at 30 days after busulfan treatment. The protein level of MGAT1 was increased in busulfan-treated mouse testis. The busulfan-treated mouse testes were also subjected to label-free quantification proteomics, which revealed 190 significantly downregulated proteins. Clustering heatmap, gene ontology, KEGG pathway and protein interaction analyses were performed and then validated by molecular experiments. An increased understanding of reproductive proteins function in vitro and in vivo will help to prevent and treat reproductive diseases.
Project description:In the normal adult testis GDNF specifically targets spermatogonial stem cells and early progenitor spermatogonia. Inhibition of GDNF signaling for 9 days alters only 171 of the 15,000 transcripts expressed in the mouse testis. Many of these transcripts are known to be expressed by the spermatogonial stem cells. One transcript that is affected is Kif26A, a known suppressor of GDNF signaling.
Project description:Liver undergoes both size increase and differentiation during postnatal period, which in mice is approximately first 30 days. The mechanisms of simultaneous postnatal liver cell proliferation and maturation are not clear. In these experiments, role of yes associated protein (Yap), the downstream effector of Hippo Kinase signaling pathway was investigated.
Project description:Arsenic is a widespread metalloid in environment, whose exposure has been associated with a broad spectrum of toxic effects. However, a global view of arsenic-induced male reproductive toxicity is still lack, and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Our results revealed that arsenic exposure decreased testosterone level and reduced sperm quality in rats. By conducting an integrated proteomics and metabolomics analysis, the present study aims to investigate the global influence of arsenic exposure on the proteome and metabolome in rat testis. The abundance of 70 proteins (36 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated) and 13 metabolites (8 increased and 5 decreased) were found to be significantly altered by arsenic treatment. Among these, 19 proteins and 2 metabolites were specifically related to male reproductive system development and function, including spermatogenesis, sperm function and fertilization, fertility, internal genitalia development, and mating behavior. It is further proposed that arsenic mainly impaired spermatogenesis and fertilization via aberrant modulation of these male reproduction-related proteins and metabolites, which may be mediated by the ERK/AKT/NF-κB-dependent signaling pathway. Overall, these findings will aid our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for arsenic-induced male reproductive toxicity, and from such studies useful biomarkers indicative of arsenic exposure could be discovered.
Project description:Gene expression profiles of RNA extracted at 24 or 48h from End1 cells infected with Chlamydia trachomatis or uninfected controls. This experiment forms part of the analysis of phosphoproteome changes after C.trachomatis infection.