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Ozturk S. Genetic variants underlying spermatogenic arrests in men with non-obstructive azoospermia. Cell Cycle 2023; 22:1021-1061. [PMID: 36740861 PMCID: PMC10081088 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2023.2171544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Spermatogenic arrest is a severe form of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), which occurs in 10-15% of infertile men. Interruption in spermatogenic progression at premeiotic, meiotic, or postmeiotic stage can lead to arrest in men with NOA. Recent studies have intensively focused on defining genetic variants underlying these spermatogenic arrests by making genome/exome sequencing. A number of variants were discovered in the genes involving in mitosis, meiosis, germline differentiation and other basic cellular events. Herein, defined variants in NOA cases with spermatogenic arrests and created knockout mouse models for the related genes are comprehensively reviewed. Also, importance of gene panel-based screening for NOA cases was discussed. Screening common variants in these infertile men with spermatogenic arrests may contribute to elucidating the molecular background and designing novel treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saffet Ozturk
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Akdeniz University School of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey
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2
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McGlacken-Byrne SM, Del Valle I, Le Quesne Stabej P, Bellutti L, Garcia-Alonso L, Ocaka LA, Ishida M, Suntharalingham JP, Gagunashvili A, Ogunbiyi OK, Mistry T, Buonocore F, Crespo B, Moreno N, Niola P, Brooks T, Brain CE, Dattani MT, Kelberman D, Vento-Tormo R, Lagos CF, Livera G, Conway GS, Achermann JC. Pathogenic variants in the human m6A reader YTHDC2 are associated with primary ovarian insufficiency. JCI Insight 2022; 7:154671. [PMID: 35138268 PMCID: PMC8983136 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.154671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) affects 1% of women and carries significant medical and psychosocial sequelae. Approximately 10% of POI has a defined genetic cause, with most implicated genes relating to biological processes involved in early fetal ovary development and function. Recently, Ythdc2, an RNA helicase and N6-methyladenosine (m6a) reader, has emerged as a novel regulator of meiosis in mice. Here, we describe homozygous pathogenic variants in YTHDC2 in three women with early-onset POI from two families: c. 2567C>G, p.P856R in the helicase-associated (HA2) domain; and c.1129G>T, p.E377*. We demonstrate that YTHDC2 is expressed in the developing human fetal ovary and is upregulated in meiotic germ cells, together with related meiosis-associated factors. The p.P856R variant results in a less flexible protein that likely disrupts downstream conformational kinetics of the HA2 domain, whereas the p.E377* variant truncates the helicase core. Taken together, our results reveal that YTHDC2 is a key new regulator of meiosis in humans and pathogenic variants within this gene are associated with POI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinead M McGlacken-Byrne
- Genetics and Genomics Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ignacio Del Valle
- Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Polona Le Quesne Stabej
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Laura Bellutti
- Laboratory of Development of the Gonads, UMR E008, Université de Paris, Université Paris Saclay, CEA, Fontenay aux Roses, France
| | - Luz Garcia-Alonso
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Louise A Ocaka
- GOSgene, Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Miho Ishida
- Genetics and Genomics Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jenifer P Suntharalingham
- Genetics and Genomics Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrey Gagunashvili
- GOSgene, Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Olumide K Ogunbiyi
- Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Talisa Mistry
- Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Federica Buonocore
- Genetics and Genomics Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Berta Crespo
- Developmental Biology and Cancer, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nadjeda Moreno
- Developmental Biology and Cancer, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paola Niola
- UCL Genomics, Zayed Centre for Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tony Brooks
- UCL Genomics, Zayed Centre for Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline E Brain
- Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mehul T Dattani
- Genetics and Genomics Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Kelberman
- GOSgene, Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Roser Vento-Tormo
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Carlos F Lagos
- Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery Lab, Escuela de Química y Farmacia, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gabriel Livera
- Laboratory of Development of the Gonads, UMR E008, Université de Paris, Université Paris Saclay, CEA, Fontenay aux Roses, France
| | - Gerard S Conway
- Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - John C Achermann
- Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
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3
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Guan Y, Keeney S, Jain D, Wang PJ. yama, a mutant allele of Mov10l1, disrupts retrotransposon silencing and piRNA biogenesis. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009265. [PMID: 33635934 PMCID: PMC7946307 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) play critical roles in protecting germline genome integrity and promoting normal spermiogenic differentiation. In mammals, there are two populations of piRNAs: pre-pachytene and pachytene. Transposon-rich pre-pachytene piRNAs are expressed in fetal and perinatal germ cells and are required for retrotransposon silencing, whereas transposon-poor pachytene piRNAs are expressed in spermatocytes and round spermatids and regulate mRNA transcript levels. MOV10L1, a germ cell-specific RNA helicase, is essential for the production of both populations of piRNAs. Although the requirement of the RNA helicase domain located in the MOV10L1 C-terminal region for piRNA biogenesis is well known, its large N-terminal region remains mysterious. Here we report a novel Mov10l1 mutation, named yama, in the Mov10l1 N-terminal region. The yama mutation results in a single amino acid substitution V229E. The yama mutation causes meiotic arrest, de-repression of transposable elements, and male sterility because of defects in pre-pachytene piRNA biogenesis. Moreover, restricting the Mov10l1 mutation effects to later stages in germ cell development by combining with a postnatal conditional deletion of a complementing wild-type allele causes absence of pachytene piRNAs, accumulation of piRNA precursors, polar conglomeration of piRNA pathway proteins in spermatocytes, and spermiogenic arrest. Mechanistically, the V229E substitution in MOV10L1 reduces its interaction with PLD6, an endonuclease that generates the 5′ ends of piRNA intermediates. Our results uncover an important role for the MOV10L1-PLD6 interaction in piRNA biogenesis throughout male germ cell development. Small non-coding RNAs play critical roles in silencing of exogenous viruses, endogenous retroviruses, and transposable elements, and also play multifaceted roles in controlling gene expression. Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are found in gonads in diverse species from flies to humans. An evolutionarily conserved function of piRNAs is to silence transposable elements through an adaptive mechanism and thus to protect germline genome integrity. In mammals, piRNAs also provide a poorly understood function to regulate postmeiotic differentiation of spermatids. More than two dozen proteins are involved in the piRNA pathway. MOV10L1, a germ-cell-specific RNA helicase, binds to piRNA precursors to initiate piRNA biogenesis. Here we have identified a single amino acid substitution (V229E) in MOV10L1 in the yama mouse mutant. When constitutively expressed as the only source of MOV10L1 throughout germ cell development, the yama mutation abolishes piRNA biogenesis, de-silences transposable elements, and causes meiotic arrest. When the mutant phenotype is instead revealed only later in germ cell development by conditionally inactivating a wild-type copy of the gene, the point mutant abolishes formation of later classes of piRNAs and again disrupts germ cell development. Point mutations in MOV10L1 may thus contribute to male infertility in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjuan Guan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Scott Keeney
- Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States of America
| | - Devanshi Jain
- Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States of America
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail: (DJ); (PJW)
| | - P. Jeremy Wang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (DJ); (PJW)
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Guo R, Xu Y, Leu NA, Zhang L, Fuchs SY, Ye L, Wang P. The ssDNA-binding protein MEIOB acts as a dosage-sensitive regulator of meiotic recombination. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:12219-12233. [PMID: 33166385 PMCID: PMC7708077 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Meiotic recombination enables reciprocal exchange of genetic information between parental chromosomes and is essential for fertility. MEIOB, a meiosis-specific ssDNA-binding protein, regulates early meiotic recombination. Here we report that the human infertility-associated missense mutation (N64I) in MEIOB causes protein degradation and reduced crossover formation in mouse testes. Although the MEIOB N64I substitution is associated with human infertility, the point mutant mice are fertile despite meiotic defects. Meiob mutagenesis identifies serine 67 as a critical residue for MEIOB. Biochemically, these two mutations (N64I and S67 deletion) cause self-aggregation of MEIOB and sharply reduced protein half-life. Molecular genetic analyses of both point mutants reveal an important role for MEIOB in crossover formation in late meiotic recombination. Furthermore, we find that the MEIOB protein levels directly correlate with the severity of meiotic defects. Our results demonstrate that MEIOB regulates meiotic recombination in a dosage-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Guo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yang Xu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - N Adrian Leu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Serge Y Fuchs
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Lan Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - P Jeremy Wang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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