Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sez. Bottazzi, Università degli Studi della Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Via Costantinopoli 16, 80138, Napoli, Italy.
Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Napoli, Italy.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021 Dec 22;79(1):50. doi: 10.1007/s00018-021-04054-8.
Circular RNA (circRNA) biogenesis requires a backsplicing reaction, promoted by inverted repeats in cis-flanking sequences and trans factors, such as RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Among these, FUS plays a key role. During spermatogenesis and sperm maturation along the epididymis such a molecular mechanism has been poorly explored. With this in mind, we chose circCNOT6L as a study case and wild-type (WT) as well as cannabinoid receptor type-1 knock-out (Cb1) male mice as animal models to analyze backsplicing mechanisms. Our results suggest that spermatozoa (SPZ) have an endogenous skill to circularize mRNAs, choosing FUS as modulator of backsplicing and under CB1 stimulation. A physical interaction between FUS and CNOT6L as well as a cooperation among FUS, RNA Polymerase II (RNApol2) and Quaking (QKI) take place in SPZ. Finally, to gain insight into FUS involvement in circCNOT6L biogenesis, FUS expression was reduced through RNA interference approach. Paternal transmission of FUS and CNOT6L to oocytes during fertilization was then assessed by using murine unfertilized oocytes (NF), one-cell zygotes (F) and murine oocytes undergoing parthenogenetic activation (PA) to exclude a maternal contribution. The role of circCNOT6L as an active regulator of zygote transition toward the 2-cell-like state was suggested using the Embryonic Stem Cell (ESC) system. Intriguingly, human SPZ exactly mirror murine SPZ.
环状 RNA (circRNA) 的生物发生需要反向剪接反应,由顺式侧翼序列中的反向重复序列和反式因子(如 RNA 结合蛋白 (RBP))促进。在这些因子中,FUS 起着关键作用。在精子发生和精子沿着附睾的成熟过程中,这种分子机制还没有得到很好的探索。考虑到这一点,我们选择 circCNOT6L 作为研究案例,选择野生型 (WT) 和大麻素受体 1 敲除 (Cb1) 雄性小鼠作为动物模型来分析反向剪接机制。我们的结果表明,精子 (SPZ) 具有内在的环状化 mRNA 的能力,选择 FUS 作为反向剪接的调节剂,并在 CB1 刺激下。FUS 和 CNOT6L 之间存在物理相互作用,以及 FUS、RNA 聚合酶 II (RNApol2) 和 Quaking (QKI) 之间的合作,都发生在 SPZ 中。最后,为了深入了解 FUS 在 circCNOT6L 生物发生中的作用,我们通过 RNA 干扰方法降低了 FUS 的表达。然后通过使用未受精的小鼠卵母细胞 (NF)、单细胞受精卵 (F) 和进行孤雌激活的小鼠卵母细胞 (PA) 来评估受精过程中 FUS 和 CNOT6L 向卵母细胞的父系传递,以排除母系贡献。使用胚胎干细胞 (ESC) 系统表明 circCNOT6L 作为胚胎向 2 细胞样状态过渡的活性调节剂的作用。有趣的是,人类 SPZ 完全与小鼠 SPZ 相似。