Yang Junxiao, Zhang Yueling, Deng Jiakun, Li Chunyun, Chen Wei, Cui Yinghong, Zhang Haibin
Department of Orthopedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, PR China.
National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, PR China.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2025 Sep 2;82(1):331. doi: 10.1007/s00018-025-05818-2.
Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is a leading cause of male infertility, characterized by impaired spermatogenesis. Recent studies suggest that ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, may contribute to testicular dysfunction, however, its role in NOA remains underexplored. In this study, we investigated the roles of NUPR1 and MYC in regulating ferroptosis in human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and evaluated their potential as therapeutic targets for NOA. Single-cell RNA sequencing of testicular tissues from NOA and obstructive azoospermia (OA) patients revealed distinct cellular populations, with UMAP clustering showing a significant reduction in germ cells in NOA samples. High-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis (hdWGCNA) identified two key modules (red and green-yellow) that were associated with spermatogonia. Integrative analysis of scRNA-seq, microarray datasets, and ferroptosis-related genes identified NUPR1 as a key regulatory gene. Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated NUPR1 co-localization with SSC markers PLZF and UCHL1, and its expression was significantly lower in the testes of NOA patients compared to fertile controls. NUPR1 knockdown in SSCs led to increased ROS levels, lipid peroxidation, and Fe accumulation, along with decreased expression of key ferroptosis markers such as GPX4, NRF2, and KEAP1, cycloheximide chase assays further demonstrated that NUPR1 depletion accelerates the degradation of GPX4 and NRF2, confirming NUPR1's role in ferroptosis regulation. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that MYC binds directly to the NUPR1 promoter, suggesting MYC's involvement in regulating ferroptosis through NUPR1. These findings identify NUPR1 and MYC as critical regulators of ferroptosis in SSCs, providing novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of NOA and suggesting potential therapeutic strategies targeting ferroptosis for male infertility.
非梗阻性无精子症(NOA)是男性不育的主要原因,其特征是精子发生受损。最近的研究表明,铁死亡是一种铁依赖性细胞死亡形式,可能导致睾丸功能障碍,然而,其在NOA中的作用仍未得到充分探索。在本研究中,我们研究了NUPR1和MYC在调节人类精原干细胞(SSCs)铁死亡中的作用,并评估了它们作为NOA治疗靶点的潜力。对NOA和梗阻性无精子症(OA)患者睾丸组织进行单细胞RNA测序,揭示了不同的细胞群,UMAP聚类显示NOA样本中的生殖细胞显著减少。高维加权基因共表达网络分析(hdWGCNA)确定了与精原细胞相关的两个关键模块(红色和绿黄色)。对scRNA-seq、微阵列数据集和铁死亡相关基因的综合分析确定NUPR1为关键调控基因。免疫荧光分析表明,NUPR1与SSC标志物PLZF和UCHL1共定位,与生育对照组相比,NOA患者睾丸中其表达显著降低。SSCs中NUPR1基因敲低导致活性氧水平升高、脂质过氧化和铁积累增加,同时关键铁死亡标志物如GPX4、NRF2和KEAP1的表达降低,环己酰亚胺追踪试验进一步证明NUPR1缺失加速了GPX4和NRF2的降解,证实了NUPR1在铁死亡调节中的作用。此外,染色质免疫沉淀(ChIP)试验表明,MYC直接结合到NUPR1启动子上,表明MYC通过NUPR1参与调节铁死亡。这些发现确定NUPR1和MYC是SSCs中铁死亡的关键调节因子,为NOA的分子机制提供了新的见解,并提出了针对男性不育的铁死亡靶向治疗策略。
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