Open Access
ARTICLE
MicroRNA-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting Kmt5a
YI ZHENG#, PENGFEI ZHANG#, JINSHENG ZHU#, LINGKAI ZHANG, WENXIAN ZENG*
Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F
University, Yangling, 712100, China
* Address correspondence to: Wenxian Zeng,
# These authors contributed equally to this work
BIOCELL 2020, 44(2), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.08770
Received 07 October 2019; Accepted 19 January 2020; Issue published 27 May 2020
Abstract
Spermatogenesis is a highly efficient and intricate process in the testis by which mature spermatozoa are
produced daily to maintain lifelong male fertility. Essential to this process are spermatogonia capable of both
proliferation and differentiation. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms for spermatogonial proliferation and
differentiation remain poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a category of non-coding small RNAs with
regulatory functions by binding to the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of the target mRNA. Previous studies have
demonstrated that miRNAs are capable of modulating cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, but the roles of
individual miRNAs in spermatogonial fate determination remain largely elusive. Here, by using a mouse
spermatogonial cell line (GC-1), we investigated the role for miRNA-382 in spermatogonial proliferation. We found
that pre-miRNA-382 was expressed in spermatogonia. The luciferase reporter assay demonstrated
Kmt5a but not
Top1 as a target gene of miRNA-382. Overexpression of miRNA-382 by transfecting a miRNA mimic downregulated
Kmt5a at both RNA and protein levels, and further reduced the proliferation and viability of spermatogonia.
Knockdown of
Kmt5a by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in a uniform phenotype in spermatogonia. We therefore
conclude that miRNA-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting
Kmt5a. Our finding extends
the knowledge about the regulatory roles of miRNAs in spermatogonia and lays the groundwork for diagnosis and
treatment of male infertility.
Keywords
Cite This Article
APA Style
ZHENG, Y., ZHANG, P., ZHU, J., ZHANG, L., ZENG, W. (2020). Microrna-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting <i>kmt5a</i>. BIOCELL, 44(2), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.08770
Vancouver Style
ZHENG Y, ZHANG P, ZHU J, ZHANG L, ZENG W. Microrna-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting <i>kmt5a</i>. BIOCELL . 2020;44(2):201-207 https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.08770
IEEE Style
Y. ZHENG, P. ZHANG, J. ZHU, L. ZHANG, and W. ZENG "MicroRNA-382 inhibits the proliferation of mouse spermatogonia by targeting <i>Kmt5a</i>," BIOCELL , vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 201-207. 2020. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2020.08770
Citations