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Bu T, Wang L, Wu X, Gao S, Li X, Yun D, Yang X, Li L, Cheng CY, Sun F. The Planar Cell Polarity Protein Fat1 in Sertoli Cell Function. Endocrinology 2024; 165:bqae041. [PMID: 38553880 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqae041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Fat (FAT atypical cadherin) and Dchs (Dachsous cadherin-related protein) in adjacent Sertoli:Sertoli, Sertoli:spermatid, and spermatid:spermatid interfaces create an important intercellular bridge whose adhesive function is in turn supported by Fjx1, a nonreceptor Ser/Thr protein kinase. This concept is derived from earlier studies of Drosophila, which has been confirmed in this and earlier reports as well. Herein, we use the approach of knockdown of Fat1 by RNAi using primary cultures of Sertoli cells that mimicked the blood-testis barrier (BTB) in vivo, and a series of coherent experiments including functional assays to monitor the Sertoli cell tight junction (TJ) permeability barrier and a functional in vitro TJ integrity assay to assess the role of Fat1 in the testis. It was shown that planar cell polarity (PCP) protein Fat1 affected Sertoli cell function through its modulation of actin and microtubule cytoskeletal function, altering their polymerization activity through the Fat1/Fjx1 complex. Furthermore, Fat1 is intimately associated with β-catenin and α-N-catenin, as well as with Prickle 1 of the Vangl1/Prickle 1 complex, another PCP core protein to support intercellular interactions to confer PCP. In summary, these findings support the notion that the Fat:Dchs and the Vangl2:Fzd PCP intercellular bridges are tightly associated with basal ES/TJ structural proteins to stabilize PCP function at the Sertoli:Sertoli, Sertoli:spermatid, and spermatid:spermatid interface to sustain spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiao Bu
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Lingling Wang
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Xiaolong Wu
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310016, China
| | - Sheng Gao
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Xinyao Li
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Damin Yun
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Xiwen Yang
- School of Basic Medical Science, Key Laboratory of Fertility Preservation and Maintenance of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China
| | - Linxi Li
- Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Innovation and Application of Intelligent Radiotherapy Technology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China
| | - Chuen Yan Cheng
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
| | - Fei Sun
- Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China
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Washburn HR, Chander P, Srikanth KD, Dalva MB. Transsynaptic Signaling of Ephs in Synaptic Development, Plasticity, and Disease. Neuroscience 2023; 508:137-152. [PMID: 36460219 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.11.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Synapse formation between neurons is critical for proper circuit and brain function. Prior to activity-dependent refinement of connections between neurons, activity-independent cues regulate the contact and recognition of potential synaptic partners. Formation of a synapse results in molecular recognition events that initiate the process of synaptogenesis. Synaptogenesis requires contact between axon and dendrite, selection of correct and rejection of incorrect partners, and recruitment of appropriate pre- and postsynaptic proteins needed for the establishment of functional synaptic contact. Key regulators of these events are families of transsynaptic proteins, where one protein is found on the presynaptic neuron and the other is found on the postsynaptic neuron. Of these families, the EphBs and ephrin-Bs are required during each phase of synaptic development from target selection, recruitment of synaptic proteins, and formation of spines to regulation of synaptic plasticity at glutamatergic spine synapses in the mature brain. These roles also place EphBs and ephrin-Bs as important regulators of human neurological diseases. This review will focus on the role of EphBs and ephrin-Bs at synapses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halley R Washburn
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, 233 South 10th Street, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 324, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Praveen Chander
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, 233 South 10th Street, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 324, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Kolluru D Srikanth
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, 233 South 10th Street, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 324, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Matthew B Dalva
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, 233 South 10th Street, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 324, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
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Agrawal N, Lawler K, Davidson CM, Keogh JM, Legg R, Barroso I, Farooqi IS, Brand AH. Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001255. [PMID: 34748544 PMCID: PMC8575313 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of human obesity-associated genes can reveal new mechanisms to target for weight loss therapy. Genetic studies of obese individuals and the analysis of rare genetic variants can identify novel obesity-associated genes. However, establishing a functional relationship between these candidate genes and adiposity remains a significant challenge. We uncovered a large number of rare homozygous gene variants by exome sequencing of severely obese children, including those from consanguineous families. By assessing the function of these genes in vivo in Drosophila, we identified 4 genes, not previously linked to human obesity, that regulate adiposity (itpr, dachsous, calpA, and sdk). Dachsous is a transmembrane protein upstream of the Hippo signalling pathway. We found that 3 further members of the Hippo pathway, fat, four-jointed, and hippo, also regulate adiposity and that they act in neurons, rather than in adipose tissue (fat body). Screening Hippo pathway genes in larger human cohorts revealed rare variants in TAOK2 associated with human obesity. Knockdown of Drosophila tao increased adiposity in vivo demonstrating the strength of our approach in predicting novel human obesity genes and signalling pathways and their site of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Agrawal
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine Lawler
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine M. Davidson
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Julia M. Keogh
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Legg
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Inês Barroso
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - I. Sadaf Farooqi
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea H. Brand
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins support spermatogenesis through cytoskeletal organization in the testis. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 121:99-113. [PMID: 34059418 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Few reports are found in the literature regarding the role of planar cell polarity (PCP) in supporting spermatogenesis in the testis. Yet morphological studies reported decades earlier have illustrated the directional alignment of polarized developing spermatids, most notably step 17-19 spermatids in stage V-early VIII tubules in the testis, across the plane of the epithelium in seminiferous tubules of adult rats. Such morphological features have unequivocally demonstrated the presence of PCP in developing spermatids, analogous to the PCP noted in hair cells of the cochlea in mammals. Emerging evidence in recent years has shown that Sertoli and germ cells express numerous PCP proteins, mostly notably, the core PCP proteins, PCP effectors and PCP signaling proteins. In this review, we discuss recent findings in the field regarding the two core PCP protein complexes, namely the Van Gogh-like 2 (Vangl2)/Prickle (Pk) complex and the Frizzled (Fzd)/Dishevelled (Dvl) complex. These findings have illustrated that these PCP proteins exert their regulatory role to support spermatogenesis through changes in the organization of actin and microtubule (MT) cytoskeletons in Sertoli cells. For instance, these PCP proteins confer PCP to developing spermatids. As such, developing haploid spermatids can be aligned and orderly packed within the limited space of the seminiferous tubules in the testes for the production of sperm via spermatogenesis. Thus, each adult male in the mouse, rat or human can produce an upward of 30, 50 or 300 million spermatozoa on a daily basis, respectively, throughout the adulthood. We also highlight critical areas of research that deserve attention in future studies. We also provide a hypothetical model by which PCP proteins support spermatogenesis based on recent studies in the testis. It is conceivable that the hypothetical model shown here will be updated as more data become available in future years, but this information can serve as the framework by investigators to unravel the role of PCP in spermatogenesis.
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Zinna R, Emlen D, Lavine LC, Johns A, Gotoh H, Niimi T, Dworkin I. Sexual dimorphism and heightened conditional expression in a sexually selected weapon in the Asian rhinoceros beetle. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:5049-5072. [PMID: 30357984 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Among the most dramatic examples of sexual selection are the weapons used in battles between rival males over access to females. As with ornaments of female choice, the most "exaggerated" sexually selected weapons vary from male to male more widely than other body parts (hypervariability), and their growth tends to be more sensitive to nutritional state or physiological condition compared with growth of other body parts ("heightened" conditional expression). Here, we use RNAseq analysis to build on recent work exploring these mechanisms in the exaggerated weapons of beetles, by examining patterns of differential gene expression in exaggerated (head and thorax horns) and non-exaggerated (wings, genitalia) traits in the Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus. Our results suggest that sexually dimorphic expression of weaponry involves large-scale changes in gene expression, relative to other traits, while nutrition-driven changes in gene expression in these same weapons are less pronounced. However, although fewer genes overall were differentially expressed in high- vs. low-nutrition individuals, the number of differentially expressed genes varied predictably according to a trait's degree of condition dependence (head horn > thorax horn > wings > genitalia). Finally, we observed a high degree of similarity in direction of effects (vectors) for subsets of differentially expressed genes across both sexually dimorphic and nutritionally responsive growth. Our results are consistent with a common set of mechanisms governing sexual size dimorphism and condition dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Zinna
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Douglas Emlen
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Laura C Lavine
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Annika Johns
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hiroki Gotoh
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Teruyuki Niimi
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ian Dworkin
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Li C, Li B, Ma S, Lü P, Chen K. Dusky works upstream of Four-jointed and Forked in wing morphogenesis in Tribolium castaneum. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2017; 26:677-686. [PMID: 28677915 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Dusky (dy) is required for cytoskeletal reorganization during wing morphogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, but which genes participate together with dy for wing morphogenesis has remained unclear. In Tribolium castaneum, dy is highly expressed at the late embryonic stage. Tissue-specific expression analysis indicated high expression levels of dy in the epidermis, head and fat body of late-stage larvae. RNA interference (RNAi) targeting dy significantly decreased adult wing size and caused improper folding of the elytra. Meanwhile, dy knockdown reduced the transcription of four-jointed (fj) and forked (f). Our results show that fj RNAi reduces adult wing size and that silencing f results in abnormal wing folding in T. castaneum. Interestingly, knocking down fj and f simultaneously phenocopies dy RNAi, suggesting that dy probably acts upstream of fj and f to regulate wing morphogenesis in T. castaneum.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Li
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - B Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - S Ma
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - P Lü
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - K Chen
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
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