Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Serow Highway, P.O. Box 1177, Urmia, Iran.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2012 Dec;150(1-3):137-46. doi: 10.1007/s12011-012-9484-8. Epub 2012 Aug 15.
This is the first report to describe the effects of zinc (Zn) ions on the expression of germ cell (GC) genes from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Zn plays an important role in germinal epithelium maintenance, testosterone secretion, differentiation of GCs, and spermatogenesis. In addition, several studies have suggested that MSCs have the potential for differentiation into numerous cells types, including male GCs. In this study, we have treated passage-3 ram BM-MSCs with 0.14 μg/ml Zn sulfate (ZnSO₄) for a period of 21 days with the intent to determine whether Zn treatment can stimulate MSCs to differentiate into male GCs in vitro. We also sought to determine the type of changes seen in MSCs by Zn treatment. Differentiation into male GCs was evaluated by the assessment of expressions of the following GC-specific markers: VASA, PIWIL2, OCT4, beta1 INTEGRIN (ITG b1), DAZL (by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative RT-PCR), and PGP 9.5 (by immunocytochemistry). Also studied were morphological characteristics and changes in alkaline phosphatase activity. Interestingly, Zn upregulated the expressions of VASA and ITG b1 but downregulated PIWIL2 and OCT4. DAZL and PGP 9.5 were not expressed in the treatment group. According to our results, Zn ions did not stimulate BM-MSCs to transdifferentiate into male GCs; however, it changed the expression of GC genes in BM-MSCs. It can be concluded that a possible mechanism by which Zn ions can increase male fertility is by regulation of the expression of testis GC-specific genes in the differentiation process and spermatogenesis.
这是第一篇描述锌（Zn）离子对骨髓间充质干细胞（BM-MSCs）中生殖细胞（GC）基因表达影响的报告。Zn 在生殖上皮维持、睾丸酮分泌、GC 分化和精子发生中发挥重要作用。此外，一些研究表明，间充质干细胞具有分化为多种细胞类型的潜力，包括雄性 GC。在这项研究中，我们用 0.14μg/ml 的硫酸锌（ZnSO₄）处理第 3 代公羊 BM-MSCs21 天，旨在确定 Zn 处理是否能刺激 MSCs 体外分化为雄性 GC。我们还试图确定 Zn 处理对 MSCs 产生的变化类型。通过评估以下 GC 特异性标记物的表达来评估向雄性 GC 的分化：VASA、PIWIL2、OCT4、β1 整合素（ITG b1）、DAZL（通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和定量 RT-PCR）和 PGP 9.5（通过免疫细胞化学）。还研究了形态特征和碱性磷酸酶活性的变化。有趣的是，Zn 上调了 VASA 和 ITG b1 的表达，但下调了 PIWIL2 和 OCT4 的表达。在处理组中未表达 DAZL 和 PGP 9.5。根据我们的结果，Zn 离子没有刺激 BM-MSCs 转分化为雄性 GC，但改变了 BM-MSCs 中 GC 基因的表达。可以得出结论，Zn 离子增加雄性生育能力的一种可能机制是通过调节分化过程中和精子发生中睾丸 GC 特异性基因的表达。
