Huang Chao, Gong Huan, Mu Bin, Lan Xinting, Yang Chengcheng, Tan Jinlong, Liu Wentao, Zou Yuanfeng, Li Lixia, Feng Bin, He Xia, Luo Qihui, Chen Zhengli
Laboratory of Experimental Animal Disease Model, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 11;23(4):1985. doi: 10.3390/ijms23041985.
Maturing male germ cells undergo a unique developmental process in spermiogenesis that replaces nucleosomal histones with protamines, the process of which is critical for testicular development and male fertility. The progress of this exchange is regulated by complex mechanisms that are not well understood. Now, with mouse genetic models, we show that barrier-to-autointegration factor-like protein (BAF-L) plays an important role in spermiogenesis and spermatozoal function. BAF-L is a male germ cell marker, whose expression is highly associated with the maturation of male germ cells. The genetic deletion of BAF-L in mice impairs the progress of spermiogenesis and thus male fertility. This effect on male fertility is a consequence of the disturbed homeostasis of histones and protamines in maturing male germ cells, in which the interactions between BAF-L and histones/protamines are implicated. Finally, we show that reduced testicular expression of BAF-L represents a risk factor of human male infertility.
成熟的雄性生殖细胞在精子发生过程中经历独特的发育过程，该过程用鱼精蛋白取代核小体组蛋白，这一过程对睾丸发育和雄性生育能力至关重要。这种交换过程由尚未完全了解的复杂机制调控。现在，利用小鼠遗传模型，我们发现屏障自整合因子样蛋白（BAF-L）在精子发生和精子功能中起重要作用。BAF-L是一种雄性生殖细胞标志物，其表达与雄性生殖细胞的成熟高度相关。小鼠中BAF-L的基因缺失会损害精子发生进程，进而影响雄性生育能力。对雄性生育能力的这种影响是成熟雄性生殖细胞中组蛋白和鱼精蛋白内稳态紊乱的结果，其中涉及BAF-L与组蛋白/鱼精蛋白之间的相互作用。最后，我们表明睾丸中BAF-L表达降低是人类男性不育的一个风险因素。
