1. Reduced microRNA-188-3p expression contributes to apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in patients with azoospermia.
- Author
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Song WY, Meng H, Wang XG, Jin HX, Yao GD, Shi SL, Wu L, Zhang XY, and Sun YP
- Subjects
- Acetylation, Animals, Antagomirs metabolism, Azoospermia genetics, Azoospermia metabolism, Base Sequence, Cell Line, Histone Deacetylase 1 genetics, Histone Deacetylase 1 metabolism, Histone Deacetylase 2 genetics, Histone Deacetylase 2 metabolism, Histones metabolism, Humans, Male, Mice, MicroRNAs antagonists & inhibitors, MicroRNAs genetics, MutL Protein Homolog 1 antagonists & inhibitors, Promoter Regions, Genetic genetics, RNA Interference, Sequence Alignment, Spermatogenesis, Apoptosis genetics, Azoospermia pathology, Down-Regulation, MicroRNAs metabolism, MutL Protein Homolog 1 genetics, MutL Protein Homolog 1 metabolism, Spermatocytes cytology
- Abstract
Background and Aims: Human mutL homologl (MLH1) works coordinately in sequential steps to initiate repair of DNA mismatches, and aberrant MLH1 expression is related to spermatogenetic malfunction. In the present study, MLH1 expression in patients with azoospermia was investigated, and moderating effects of miR-188-3p on MLH1 expression and spermatogenesis were identified., Methods: Testicular tissues from 16 patients with obstructive azoospermia (OA) and non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), and tissues of eight healthy patients were collected. Real-time PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect MLH1 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and luciferase reporter assay were performed to evaluate histone acetylation level of miR-188-3p and relationships between miR-188-3p and MLH1., Results: Testicular MLH1 expression at mRNA and protein levels was significantly increased, while miR-188-3p expression was lower in patients with OA and NOA than that in controls. Reduced histone acetylation level of miR-188-3p promoter was observed in patients with azoospermia. Overexpression/inhibition of HDAC1, but not HDAC2, contributed to the significant reduction/increase of miR-188-3p expression. miR-188-3p targeted 3' UTR of MLH1 and regulated MLH1 expression. miR-188-3p inhibitor led to elevation of apoptotic level of spermatogenic cells in mice, while this effect was reversed by si-MLH1., Conclusion: Down-regulation of miR-188-3p by reducing histone acetylation up-regulated MLH1 expression and contributed to promotion of apoptosis in spermatogenic cells, in patients with azoospermia., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2017
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