The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China; Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
Adv Protein Chem Struct Biol. 2024;141:381-445. doi: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2024.03.003. Epub 2024 Apr 16.
The role of motor proteins in supporting intracellular transports of vesicles and organelles in mammalian cells has been known for decades. On the other hand, the function of motor proteins that support spermatogenesis is also well established since the deletion of motor protein genes leads to subfertility and/or infertility. Furthermore, mutations and genetic variations of motor protein genes affect fertility in men, but also a wide range of developmental defects in humans including multiple organs besides the testis. In this review, we seek to provide a summary of microtubule and actin-dependent motor proteins based on earlier and recent findings in the field. Since these two cytoskeletons are polarized structures, different motor proteins are being used to transport cargoes to different ends of these cytoskeletons. However, their involvement in germ cell transport across the blood-testis barrier (BTB) and the epithelium of the seminiferous tubules remains relatively unknown. It is based on recent findings in the field, we have provided a hypothetical model by which motor proteins are being used to support germ cell transport across the BTB and the seminiferous epithelium during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis. In our discussion, we have highlighted the areas of research that deserve attention to bridge the gap of research in relating the function of motor proteins to spermatogenesis.
几十年来，人们已经了解到马达蛋白在支持哺乳动物细胞内囊泡和细胞器的运输中的作用。另一方面，支持精子发生的马达蛋白的功能也已经得到很好的证实，因为马达蛋白基因的缺失会导致生育力下降和/或不育。此外，马达蛋白基因的突变和遗传变异会影响男性的生育能力，也会导致人类广泛的发育缺陷，包括除睾丸以外的多个器官。在这篇综述中，我们试图根据该领域早期和最近的发现，对微管和肌动蛋白依赖性马达蛋白进行总结。由于这两种细胞骨架是极化结构，因此不同的马达蛋白被用于将货物运送到这些细胞骨架的不同末端。然而，它们在精子细胞穿过血睾屏障（BTB）和曲细精管上皮的运输中的作用仍然相对未知。基于该领域的最新发现，我们提出了一个假设模型，即马达蛋白用于支持精子发生上皮周期中精子细胞穿过 BTB 和曲细精管上皮的运输。在讨论中，我们强调了值得关注的研究领域，以弥合将马达蛋白的功能与精子发生联系起来的研究差距。
