Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, United States.
King's College London, Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, 28th Floor, Tower Wing, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2023 Aug 1;573:111949. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111949. Epub 2023 May 16.
Male and female germ cells undergo genome-wide reprogramming during their development, and execute sex-specific programs to complete meiosis and successfully generate healthy gametes. While sexually dimorphic germ cell development is fundamental, similarities and differences exist in the basic processes governing normal gametogenesis. At the simplest level, male gamete generation in mammals is centred on the activity of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), and an equivalent cell state is not present in females. Maintaining this unique SSC epigenetic state, while keeping to germ cell-intrinsic developmental programs, poses challenges for the correct completion of spermatogenesis. In this review, we highlight the origins of spermatogonia, comparing and contrasting them with female germline development to emphasize specific developmental processes that are required for their function as germline stem cells. We identify gaps in our current knowledge about human SSCs and further discuss the impact of the unique regulation of the sex chromosomes during spermatogenesis, and the roles of X-linked genes in SSCs.
雄性和雌性生殖细胞在其发育过程中经历全基因组重编程，并执行特定于性别的程序以完成减数分裂并成功产生健康的配子。虽然性别二态性生殖细胞发育是基础，但控制正常配子发生的基本过程存在相似之处和差异。在最简单的层面上，哺乳动物雄性配子的产生以精原干细胞（SSC）的活性为中心，而雌性中不存在等效的细胞状态。维持这种独特的 SSC 表观遗传状态，同时保持与生殖细胞内在发育程序一致，对正确完成精子发生提出了挑战。在这篇综述中，我们强调了精原细胞的起源，将其与雌性生殖系发育进行比较和对比，以强调作为生殖细胞干细胞所需的特定发育过程。我们确定了我们目前对人类 SSC 知识的空白，并进一步讨论了性染色体在精子发生过程中的独特调控以及 X 连锁基因在 SSC 中的作用的影响。
