College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
Gansu Province Livestock Embryo Engineering Research Center, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 27;14(1):19903. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69458-5.
Yaks live in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time where oxygen is scarce, but can ensure the smooth development of testis and spermatogenesis. The key lies in the functional regulation of the Sertoli cells under hypoxia. In this study, we sequenced yak Sertoli cells cultured in normal oxygen concentration (Normoxia) and treated with low oxygen concentration (Hypoxia) by whole transcriptomics, and screened out 194 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), 934 differentially expressed LncRNAs (DELncRNAs) and 129 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs). GO and KEGG analysis showed that these differential genes were mainly concentrated in PI3K-AKT, MAPK, RAS, and other signaling pathways, and were associated with glucose metabolism, tight junction, steroid hormone synthesis, cell fusion, and immunity of yak Sertoli cells. We constructed the gene interaction network of yak Sertoli cells in hypoxia and screened out the relationship pairs related to glucose metabolism and tight junction. The results suggested that the changes in energy metabolism, tight junction, and immune regulation of yak Sertoli cells under hypoxia might provide favorable conditions for spermatogenesis. This study provides data for further study on the role of non-coding RNA in testis development and spermatogenesis of yak.
牦牛长期生活在氧气稀缺的青藏高原，但能确保睾丸和精子发生的顺利发育。关键在于缺氧下支持细胞的功能调节。本研究通过全转录组测序，对常氧（Normoxia）和低氧（Hypoxia）培养的牦牛支持细胞进行测序，筛选出 194 个差异表达的 mRNAs（DEmRNAs）、934 个差异表达的长链非编码 RNA（DELncRNAs）和 129 个差异表达的 miRNAs（DEmiRNAs）。GO 和 KEGG 分析表明，这些差异基因主要集中在 PI3K-AKT、MAPK、RAS 等信号通路，与牦牛支持细胞的葡萄糖代谢、紧密连接、甾体激素合成、细胞融合和免疫有关。我们构建了牦牛支持细胞在低氧下的基因互作网络，筛选出与葡萄糖代谢和紧密连接相关的关系对。结果表明，牦牛支持细胞在低氧下的能量代谢、紧密连接和免疫调节的变化可能为精子发生提供有利条件。本研究为进一步研究非编码 RNA 在牦牛睾丸发育和精子发生中的作用提供了数据。
