Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Mol Hum Reprod. 2023 Feb 28;29(3). doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaad004.
Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the basis of spermatogenesis, a complex process supported by a specialized microenvironment, called the SSC niche. Postnatal development of SSCs is characterized by distinct metabolic transitions from prepubertal to adult stages. An understanding of the niche factors that regulate these maturational events is critical for the clinical application of SSCs in fertility preservation. To investigate the niche maturation events that take place during SSC maturation, we combined different '-omics' technologies. Serial single cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed changes in the transcriptomes indicative of niche maturation that was initiated at 11 years of age in humans and at 8 weeks of age in pigs, as evident by Monocle analysis of Sertoli cells and peritubular myoid cell (PMC) development in humans and Sertoli cell analysis in pigs. Morphological niche maturation was associated with lipid droplet accumulation, a characteristic that was conserved between species. Lipidomic profiling revealed an increase in triglycerides and a decrease in sphingolipids with Sertoli cell maturation in the pig model. Quantitative (phospho-) proteomics analysis detected the activation of distinct pathways with porcine Sertoli cell maturation. We show here that the main aspects of niche maturation coincide with the morphological maturation of SSCs, which is followed by their metabolic maturation. The main aspects are also conserved between the species and can be predicted by changes in the niche lipidome. Overall, this knowledge is pivotal to establishing cell/tissue-based biomarkers that could gauge stem cell maturation to facilitate laboratory techniques that allow for SSC transplantation for restoration of fertility.
精原干细胞 (SSC) 是精子发生的基础,这是一个复杂的过程,由一个称为 SSC 龛的专门微环境支持。SSC 的出生后发育特征是从青春期前到成年期的代谢转变。了解调节这些成熟事件的龛位因素对于 SSC 在生育力保存中的临床应用至关重要。为了研究 SSC 成熟过程中龛位成熟发生的事件,我们结合了不同的“组学”技术。连续单细胞 RNA 测序分析显示,转录组发生变化,表明龛位成熟始于人类 11 岁和猪 8 周龄,这可通过人类 Sertoli 细胞和小管周肌样细胞 (PMC) 发育的 Monocle 分析以及猪的 Sertoli 细胞分析得到证明。形态龛位成熟与脂质滴积累有关,这一特征在物种间是保守的。脂质组学分析显示,猪模型中随着 Sertoli 细胞成熟,甘油三酯增加,鞘脂减少。定量(磷酸化)蛋白质组学分析检测到不同途径的激活与猪 Sertoli 细胞成熟有关。我们在这里表明,龛位成熟的主要方面与 SSC 的形态成熟相吻合,随后是它们的代谢成熟。这些主要方面在物种间也是保守的,可以通过龛位脂质组的变化来预测。总的来说,这些知识对于建立细胞/组织生物标志物至关重要,这些标志物可以评估干细胞成熟度,以促进允许 SSC 移植以恢复生育力的实验室技术。
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