Zhao Yanqiu, Wei Jinhua, Cheng Pang, Ma Junxian, Liu Bo, Xiong Mingxiang, Gao Ting, Yao Jingqi, Sun Tianchen, Li Zhen
Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China.
The Air Force Hospital of Central Theater of PLA, Datong, China.
Cell Death Discov. 2025 Apr 3;11(1):135. doi: 10.1038/s41420-025-02447-3.
Cryptorchidism is associated with an increased risk of male infertility and testicular cancer. Persistent exposure to high temperature in cryptorchidism can lead to the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a thermosensitive cation channel, has been found to have differential effects on various apoptosis processes. However, whether TRPV1 is involved in spermatogenic cell apoptosis induced by cryptorchidism remains unclear. Herein, we first observed the expression pattern of TRPV1 in the testes of mice with experimental cryptorchidism, and then investigated the role and mechanism of TRPV1 in spermatogenic cell apoptosis by using Trpv1 mice. The results showed that TRPV1 was highly expressed on the membrane of spermatocytes in mouse testis, and the expression increased significantly in the testis of mice with experimental cryptorchidism. After the operation, Trpv1 mice exhibited less reproductive damage and fewer spermatogenic cell apoptosis compared to the wild-type (WT) mice. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that the expression of apoptosis-related genes (Capn1, Capn2, Bax, Aifm1, Caspase 3, Map3k5, Itpr1 and Fas) was down-regulated in spermatocytes of cryptorchid Trpv1 mice. Our results suggest that TRPV1 promotes the apoptosis of spermatocytes in cryptorchid mice by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related genes.
隐睾症与男性不育和睾丸癌风险增加有关。隐睾症中持续暴露于高温可导致生精细胞凋亡。瞬时受体电位香草酸受体1(TRPV1)是一种热敏阳离子通道,已发现其对各种凋亡过程有不同影响。然而,TRPV1是否参与隐睾症诱导的生精细胞凋亡仍不清楚。在此,我们首先观察了实验性隐睾症小鼠睾丸中TRPV1的表达模式,然后通过使用Trpv1基因敲除小鼠研究了TRPV1在生精细胞凋亡中的作用和机制。结果显示,TRPV1在小鼠睾丸精母细胞膜上高表达,且在实验性隐睾症小鼠睾丸中表达显著增加。手术后,与野生型(WT)小鼠相比,Trpv1基因敲除小鼠表现出较少的生殖损伤和较少的生精细胞凋亡。转录组测序显示,隐睾Trpv1基因敲除小鼠精母细胞中凋亡相关基因(Capn1、Capn2、Bax、Aifm1、Caspase 3、Map3k5、Itpr1和Fas)的表达下调。我们的结果表明,TRPV1通过调节凋亡相关基因的表达促进隐睾症小鼠精母细胞的凋亡。