Department of Physiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Department of Physiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
J Biol Chem. 2021 Nov;297(5):101312. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101312. Epub 2021 Oct 19.
Mammalian spermatogenesis is a highly coordinated process that requires cooperation between specific proteins to coordinate diverse biological functions. For example, mouse Parkin coregulated gene (PACRG) recruits meiosis-expressed gene 1 (MEIG1) to the manchette during normal spermiogenesis. Here we mutated Y68 of MEIG1 using the CRISPR/cas9 system and examined the biological and physiological consequences in mice. All homozygous mutant males examined were completely infertile, and sperm count was dramatically reduced. The few developed sperm were immotile and displayed multiple abnormalities. Histological staining showed impaired spermiogenesis in these mutant mice. Immunofluorescent staining further revealed that this mutant MEIG1 was still present in the cell body of spermatocytes, but also that more MEIG1 accumulated in the acrosome region of round spermatids. The mutant MEIG1 and a cargo protein of the MEIG1/PACRG complex, sperm-associated antigen 16L (SPAG16L), were no longer found to be present in the manchette; however, localization of the PACRG component was not changed in the mutants. These findings demonstrate that Y68 of MEIG1 is a key amino acid required for PACRG to recruit MEIG1 to the manchette to transport cargo proteins during sperm flagella formation. Given that MEIG1 and PACRG are conserved in humans, small molecules that block MEIG1/PACRG interaction are likely ideal targets for the development of male contraconception drugs.
哺乳动物精子发生是一个高度协调的过程,需要特定蛋白质之间的合作来协调多种生物学功能。例如,小鼠 Parkin 共调控基因 (PACRG) 在正常精子发生过程中招募减数分裂表达基因 1 (MEIG1) 到顶体环。在这里,我们使用 CRISPR/cas9 系统突变 MEIG1 的 Y68,并在小鼠中检查其生物学和生理后果。所有检查的纯合突变雄性均完全不育,精子计数显著减少。发育的精子几乎不动,显示出多种异常。组织学染色显示这些突变小鼠的精子发生受损。免疫荧光染色进一步表明,这种突变的 MEIG1 仍然存在于精母细胞的细胞体中,但更多的 MEIG1 积累在圆形精子细胞的顶体区。突变的 MEIG1 和 MEIG1/PACRG 复合物的一种货物蛋白,精子相关抗原 16L (SPAG16L),不再存在于顶体环中;然而,突变体中 PACRG 成分的定位没有改变。这些发现表明 MEIG1 的 Y68 是 PACRG 将 MEIG1 招募到顶体环以在精子鞭毛形成过程中运输货物蛋白所必需的关键氨基酸。鉴于 MEIG1 和 PACRG 在人类中是保守的,阻断 MEIG1/PACRG 相互作用的小分子可能是开发男性避孕药物的理想靶点。