徐傳飛, 伍仕鑫, 孫磊, 蔡欣
(西南科技大學(xué)生命科學(xué)與工程學(xué)院,四川綿陽(yáng) 621010)
MicroRNA在哺乳動(dòng)物精子發(fā)生中的作用
徐傳飛, 伍仕鑫, 孫磊, 蔡欣*
(西南科技大學(xué)生命科學(xué)與工程學(xué)院,四川綿陽(yáng) 621010)
MicroRNAs(miRNAs)是一類(lèi)長(zhǎng)20~24 nt的單鏈非編碼調(diào)控RNA序列。miRNA作為基因轉(zhuǎn)錄后表達(dá)調(diào)控分子,通過(guò)堿基互補(bǔ)配對(duì)的方式與靶mRNA結(jié)合,從而導(dǎo)致靶mRNA的降解或抑制其翻譯過(guò)程。從最早發(fā)現(xiàn)存在于秀麗隱桿線蟲(chóng)Caenorhabditiselegans中的miRNAlin-4和let-7至今20多年里,研究人員已陸續(xù)從不同的種屬中發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量的miRNA。近年來(lái)隨著基因克隆、表達(dá)和功能研究技術(shù)的應(yīng)用和發(fā)展,通過(guò)分析不同動(dòng)物物種睪丸組織中miRNA的變化表明miRNA與精子發(fā)生過(guò)程密切相關(guān)。此外,miRNA相關(guān)的Dicer、Drosha等蛋白在初級(jí)精母細(xì)胞減數(shù)分裂粗線期所發(fā)揮的調(diào)控功能通過(guò)大量嚙齒動(dòng)物基因敲除模型得到證實(shí)。本文從miRNA的合成、作用機(jī)制和精子發(fā)生過(guò)程中的調(diào)控作用進(jìn)行綜述。
miRNA;哺乳動(dòng)物;精子發(fā)生;轉(zhuǎn)錄后調(diào)控
哺乳動(dòng)物不育的發(fā)病機(jī)制以及相關(guān)的致病因素一直以來(lái)都是動(dòng)物育種中的難點(diǎn)問(wèn)題,且大多數(shù)哺乳動(dòng)物的不育都是由雄性生殖障礙引起,如弱精癥、無(wú)精癥,而這些生殖障礙通常是由于雄性生殖細(xì)胞的形成以及成熟缺陷導(dǎo)致。哺乳動(dòng)物精子發(fā)生是一個(gè)多步驟發(fā)展的復(fù)雜過(guò)程,并涉及錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的基因表達(dá)調(diào)控過(guò)程,包括轉(zhuǎn)錄和轉(zhuǎn)錄后水平的調(diào)控,其中任何一個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)出錯(cuò)都可能導(dǎo)致雄性不育。二倍體生殖細(xì)胞經(jīng)過(guò)一系列細(xì)胞分裂、分化過(guò)程后形成成熟的精子,并通過(guò)精卵細(xì)胞的結(jié)合才能發(fā)育成成熟個(gè)體,所以哺乳動(dòng)物精子發(fā)生在生殖發(fā)育以及物種延續(xù)中具有重要作用。近年來(lái),對(duì)microRNA(miRNA)越來(lái)越多的研究表明其在精子發(fā)生以及早期胚胎發(fā)育等過(guò)程中發(fā)揮著重要作用,闡明miRNA在哺乳動(dòng)物生命活動(dòng)中的作用及其機(jī)理將對(duì)轉(zhuǎn)錄后基因調(diào)節(jié)領(lǐng)域的發(fā)展具有深遠(yuǎn)影響。本文著重圍繞miRNA的合成及作用機(jī)制以及其在精子發(fā)生過(guò)程中的調(diào)控作用進(jìn)行綜述。
1.1 miRNA的發(fā)現(xiàn)
miRNA是一類(lèi)來(lái)源于內(nèi)源性基因長(zhǎng)20~24 nt的單鏈非編碼調(diào)控RNA序列,是非編碼RNA家族的重要成員之一。對(duì)miRNA的研究最早始于1993年,在秀麗隱桿線蟲(chóng)Caenorhabditiselegans的胚后發(fā)育階段,一種22 nt的RNA分子lin-4通過(guò)與lin-14 mRNA的3’端堿基配對(duì)的方式抑制核蛋白lin-14的表達(dá)來(lái)調(diào)控線蟲(chóng)的發(fā)育進(jìn)程(Leeetal.,1993;Wightmanetal.,1993)。此后,在2000年又發(fā)現(xiàn)存在于線蟲(chóng)幼蟲(chóng)時(shí)期的miRNAlet-7通過(guò)下調(diào)基因lin-41來(lái)減緩基因lin-29的抑制作用(Slacketal.,2000)。隨著在動(dòng)植物中發(fā)現(xiàn)的miRNA種類(lèi)和數(shù)量的增多,研究者也越來(lái)越重視其轉(zhuǎn)錄后水平對(duì)靶基因的調(diào)控作用。
1.2 miRNA的來(lái)源
成熟的miRNA是長(zhǎng)約22 nt的不編碼蛋白質(zhì)的短序列RNA,其合成過(guò)程主要包括2個(gè)步驟:miRNA基因轉(zhuǎn)錄形成的初級(jí)miRNA(pri-miRNA)通過(guò)剪切形成長(zhǎng)約70 nt的前體miRNA(pre-miRNA)以及pre-miRNA通過(guò)剪切形成長(zhǎng)約22 nt的成熟miRNA(圖1)。大多數(shù)人類(lèi)miRNA和普通mRNA的形成過(guò)程一樣,是在RNA聚合酶Ⅱ的作用下先形成雙鏈pri-miRNA,后在5’端加M7G帽以及3’端加ploy(A)尾結(jié)構(gòu)(Kim,2005)。但并不是所有的pri-miRNA都在RNA聚合酶Ⅱ的催化下形成,如分布在人類(lèi)19號(hào)染色體上Alu重復(fù)序列中的miRNA簇的轉(zhuǎn)錄依賴(lài)于RNA聚合酶Ⅲ的催化(Borchertetal.,2006)。核糖核酸酶Drosha RNase Ⅲ(Leeetal.,2003)的RⅢDa和RⅢDb兩亞基分別對(duì)pri-miRNA的5’和3’端進(jìn)行剪切后形成具有發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)的pre-miRNA,長(zhǎng)度約70 nt,且在3’端懸掛2 nt的核糖核苷酸(Hanetal.,2004)。動(dòng)物中的Drosha酶是約160 kDa的保守蛋白,其二級(jí)結(jié)構(gòu)包括2個(gè)串聯(lián)的RNase Ⅲ區(qū)域(RⅢDs)和1個(gè)具有結(jié)合催化作用的雙鏈RNA區(qū)域(dsRBD)(Hanetal.,2004)。在黑腹果蠅Drosophilamelanogaster和人類(lèi)細(xì)胞中,Drosha酶可以與DGCR8蛋白分別形成約500 kDa和650 kDa的復(fù)合體,并且該復(fù)合體對(duì)pri-miRNA剪切過(guò)程被稱(chēng)為“Microprocess”(Denlietal.,2004;Gregoryetal.,2004),而DGCR8蛋白具有與雙鏈RNA結(jié)合的能力,通過(guò)與Drosha酶氨基端脯氨酸富集區(qū)域的表面相互作用,能穩(wěn)定Drosha酶對(duì)pri-miRNA的結(jié)合作用,從而促進(jìn)Drosha酶的剪切作用(Hanetal.,2004;Wangetal.,2007)。有一種假設(shè)認(rèn)為DGCR8蛋白能夠識(shí)別pri-miRNA在發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)單鏈與雙鏈的結(jié)合區(qū)域,并使Drosha酶在此解旋約1個(gè)螺旋結(jié)構(gòu)后形成直鏈(Hanetal.,2006)。此外,也有假設(shè)認(rèn)為pri-miRNA的終端環(huán)狀結(jié)構(gòu)也能影響Drosha酶的剪切作用(Zhang & Zeng,2010)。除一些特別的miRNA由單獨(dú)的基因轉(zhuǎn)錄通過(guò)剪切形成,形成大多數(shù)miRNA的基因既可編碼miRNA簇又可編碼一種miRNA或者一種蛋白(Bartel,2004)。除上述過(guò)程之外,在非典型miRNA的形成路徑中,一些內(nèi)含子miRNA不需要核糖核酸酶的作用,而是在一種miRNA新亞型mirtron的作用下,通過(guò)拼接形成具有發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)的pre-miRNA,從而跳過(guò)Drosha酶/DGCR8蛋白復(fù)合體的處理過(guò)程(Westholm & Lai,2011;Lietal.,2012)。
以上過(guò)程都發(fā)生在細(xì)胞核內(nèi),而pre-miRNA必須通過(guò)核孔復(fù)合體進(jìn)入到細(xì)胞質(zhì)內(nèi)才能形成成熟的miRNA。轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)蛋白Exportin-5(Exp5)通過(guò)識(shí)別懸掛在3’端的2 nt結(jié)構(gòu)并結(jié)合在pre-miRNA發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)上,在Ran-GTP(the GTP bound form of Ran GTPase)的供能下,pre-miRNA通過(guò)核孔進(jìn)入細(xì)胞質(zhì)內(nèi)(Yietal.,2003)。正是由于Exp5的功能才能確保pre-miRNA向細(xì)胞質(zhì)的有效釋放以及pre-miRNA的完整性;而Ran-GTP在細(xì)胞質(zhì)中的濃度低于在細(xì)胞核中的濃度,pre-miRNA又與Exp5相分離(Lundetal.,2004)。在細(xì)胞質(zhì)中,Dicer RNase Ⅲ酶能識(shí)別pre-miRNA并剪切形成約22 nt的miRNA(Grishoketal.,2001;Kettingetal.,2001)。然后miRNA先后在Dicer RNase Ⅲ酶和其他一些蛋白質(zhì)的作用下形成單鏈的成熟miRNA(Hutvagneretal.,2001)。正常條件下,成熟的miRNA只有一條鏈能對(duì)轉(zhuǎn)錄后的RNA產(chǎn)生相應(yīng)的調(diào)控作用,剩下的一條鏈通常在酶的作用下水解,水解鏈主要取決于每條鏈5’端的相對(duì)熱力學(xué)穩(wěn)定性(Schwarzetal.,2003)。內(nèi)部具有相對(duì)較低穩(wěn)定性的單鏈能與核糖核蛋白結(jié)合形成非對(duì)稱(chēng)性的miRNA誘導(dǎo)的基因沉默復(fù)合物(miRNA-induced silencing complex,miRISC)(Khvorovaetal.,2003;Schwarzetal.,2003),而pre-miRNA的發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)能影響Dicer酶的識(shí)別作用,從而剪切形成不同對(duì)稱(chēng)性的小干擾RNA (small interfering RNA, siRNA)樣的“莖臂結(jié)構(gòu)”(stem-arm construct),正是由于這種結(jié)構(gòu)的不對(duì)稱(chēng)性才影響在形成有效miRISC過(guò)程中不同成熟miRNA的挑選作用(Linetal.,2005)。
1.3 miRNA的作用機(jī)制
miRISC對(duì)于miRNA的處理以及RNA的干擾必不可少,并且至少由miRNA、蛋白Dicer、TRBP和AGO四種物質(zhì)構(gòu)成。TRBP蛋白是人類(lèi)免疫缺陷病反式激活RNA結(jié)合蛋白(human immunodeficiency virus trans-activating response RNA-binding protein),是Dicer復(fù)合體不可或缺的物質(zhì)(Chendrimadaetal.,2005)。在哺乳動(dòng)物細(xì)胞中,AGO蛋白是唯一行使mRNA分解功能的蛋白質(zhì),它在抑制翻譯過(guò)程也具有重要作用(Liuetal.,2004;Pratt & MacRae,2009)。大多數(shù)miRNA同靶mRNA的3’端相互作用,且?guī)缀跛械膍iRNA通過(guò)與靶mRNA部分互補(bǔ)配對(duì)的方式抑制該mRNA的翻譯過(guò)程(Olsen & Ambros,1999;Millar & Waterhouse,2005;Behm-Ansmantetal.,2006;Ameres & Zamore,2013)。因此,人們猜測(cè)哺乳動(dòng)物miRNA主要通過(guò)抑制翻譯過(guò)程或者降解mRNA而不是內(nèi)切核苷酸降解的方式發(fā)揮其調(diào)控功能(Ameres & Zamore,2013)。在哺乳動(dòng)物中,一些miRISC能夠識(shí)別靶mRNA的5’端M7G帽子部位并抑制翻譯過(guò)程(Pillaietal.,2005),隨后則引起mRNA的降解(Ameres & Zamore,2013),但對(duì)于miRNA作用機(jī)制的真實(shí)調(diào)控過(guò)程還有待進(jìn)一步揭示。有趣的是,盡管哺乳動(dòng)物miRNA通常在miRISC其他組成部分的協(xié)助下,抑制翻譯過(guò)程或者直接使靶mRNA降解,但miRNA也可能促進(jìn)轉(zhuǎn)錄和翻譯過(guò)程。例如,在神經(jīng)元細(xì)胞發(fā)育過(guò)程中,
圖1 miRNA的合成及作用機(jī)制示意圖(Olde Loohuis et al.,2012)Fig.1 The biogenesis and mechanism of miRNA(Olde Loohuis et al.,2012)
由基因間區(qū)或基因編碼區(qū)或非編碼區(qū)轉(zhuǎn)錄形成的pri-miRNA在Drosha酶/DGCR8蛋白復(fù)合體的作用下形成長(zhǎng)度約70 nt且具有發(fā)夾結(jié)構(gòu)的pre-miRNA,并通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)蛋白Exportin-5進(jìn)入細(xì)胞質(zhì); pre-miRNA經(jīng)Dicer酶作用形成成熟miRNA,并通過(guò)與含AGO蛋白的復(fù)合體結(jié)合形成miRISC; miRNA通過(guò)同靶mRNA的3’端相互作用調(diào)控基因的表達(dá)。
Pri-miRNA transcripts, transcribed from intergenic genes or genes coded within introns of coding or non-coding genes, are processed into a pre-miRNA by the Drosha/DGCR8 complex, creating a 70~80 nts, hairpin-looped molecule, which is then shuttled out of the nucleus via the exportin-5 mediated transport; cytoplasmatic digestion of the pre-miRNA is facilitated by Dicer, resulting in mature miRNAs which associate with Argonaute-containing complexes to form the RNA induced silencing complex; miRNAs modulate gene expression by pairing with sequences in the 3’UTRs of target mRNAs.
miR-128通過(guò)抑制無(wú)義介導(dǎo)的衰變途徑(the nonsense-mediated decay pathway)來(lái)促進(jìn)mRNA的表達(dá)(Brunoetal.,2011)。在細(xì)胞周期停滯期間,有一些miRNA,如miR-369-3調(diào)控AU序列同AGO蛋白以及脆性X智力遲鈍蛋白1(fragile X mental retardation protein 1)的結(jié)合,從而上調(diào)正常增殖細(xì)胞的翻譯過(guò)程(Vasudevanetal.,2007)。此外,與動(dòng)物miRNA相反,植物miRNA對(duì)于靶mRNA表現(xiàn)出更多的互補(bǔ)性且比動(dòng)物miRNA具有更高同源性(Millar & Waterhouse,2005;Ameres & Zanore,2013)。
精子發(fā)生是一個(gè)高度復(fù)雜協(xié)調(diào)的過(guò)程,成熟的精子都來(lái)源于共同的精原干細(xì)胞(spermatogonia stem cells, SSCs)。SSCs是一群位于生精上皮底部,具有高度自我更新和多向分化潛能的細(xì)胞,是精子發(fā)生的起始細(xì)胞。而SSCs的自我更新能維持干細(xì)胞數(shù)量穩(wěn)定以及精子發(fā)生的持續(xù)進(jìn)行。在成年哺乳動(dòng)物中,SSCs能通過(guò)重復(fù)的有絲分裂形成Apaired(Apr)和Aligned(Aal)精原細(xì)胞,Aal精原細(xì)胞經(jīng)有絲分裂形成Aal(4)、Aal(8)、Aal(16)精原細(xì)胞,進(jìn)一步分化形成A1型精原細(xì)胞,再經(jīng)過(guò)增殖分裂形成A2型、A3型、A4型精原細(xì)胞,而A4型精原細(xì)胞成熟形成B型精原細(xì)胞,再經(jīng)過(guò)有絲分裂形成初級(jí)精母細(xì)胞,最終經(jīng)過(guò)減數(shù)分裂分化形成成熟精子(Oatley & Brinster,2008)。
近年來(lái),通過(guò)miRNA的微陣列以及逆轉(zhuǎn)錄PCR等技術(shù),在小鼠的睪丸中發(fā)現(xiàn)大量的miRNA表達(dá)譜,并且有許多miRNA在精原細(xì)胞的自我更新以及分化過(guò)程中具有重要作用。Niu等(2011)利用高通量測(cè)序技術(shù)發(fā)現(xiàn),相比Thy1-睪丸支持細(xì)胞以及間質(zhì)細(xì)胞等多種睪丸體細(xì)胞,miR-34c、miR-182、miR-183以及miR-146a都在體外Thy1+SSCs中優(yōu)先表達(dá)。在SSCs的培養(yǎng)中發(fā)現(xiàn),miR-21的短暫抑制增加了生殖細(xì)胞凋亡的數(shù)量,并且在通過(guò)移植手術(shù)的受體小鼠睪丸組織中,減少了供體生殖細(xì)胞精子發(fā)生的數(shù)量。此外,在體外SSCs的生殖細(xì)胞培養(yǎng)中發(fā)現(xiàn),miR-21受轉(zhuǎn)錄因子ETV5的調(diào)控,而轉(zhuǎn)錄因子ETV5對(duì)SSCs的自我更新至關(guān)重要(Tyagietal.,2009),并且miR-21的增強(qiáng)子區(qū)域具有轉(zhuǎn)錄因子ETV5的結(jié)合區(qū)域。這表明miR-21在調(diào)控SSCs的自我更新中具有重要作用。通過(guò)對(duì)患隱睪癥動(dòng)物的睪丸研究發(fā)現(xiàn),miR-135a通過(guò)調(diào)控foxO1(fork head box protein 1)來(lái)影響SSCs的數(shù)目恒定(Moritokietal.,2014)。除此之外,miR-20和miR-106a在轉(zhuǎn)錄后的水平上通過(guò)靶向基因STAT3(signal transducer and activator of transcription 3)和Ccnd1(CyclinD1)促進(jìn)SSCs的更新(圖 2)。
精原細(xì)胞分化是一個(gè)涉及維甲酸(retinoic acid,RA)信號(hào)并受基因表達(dá)精確調(diào)控的過(guò)程。RA是維生素A(vitamin A)的代謝產(chǎn)物,在由Aal精原細(xì)胞分化形成A1型精原細(xì)胞過(guò)程中,RA具有至關(guān)重要的作用,對(duì)于缺乏維生素A的小鼠,其精原細(xì)胞分化受阻于此過(guò)程(Griswoldetal.,1989)。而miRNA也是精原細(xì)胞分化過(guò)程中的重要調(diào)控因子。RA通過(guò)抑制Lin28基因的表達(dá)能顯著引起mirlet7 miRNAs的感應(yīng),從而抑制精原細(xì)胞分化過(guò)程中靶基因Mycn(N-myc)、Ccnd1、Col1a2(collagen type Ⅰ alpha 2 chain)的表達(dá)(Tongetal.,2011)。miR-17-92(Mirc1)以及miR-106b-25(Mirc3)在RA誘導(dǎo)的精原細(xì)胞分化過(guò)程中明顯受到抑制,但卻能反過(guò)來(lái)促進(jìn)基因Bim(BCL2-Like 11)、Kit(CD117)、Socs3(suppressor of cytokine signaling 3)、Stat3的表達(dá),小鼠胚胎miR-17-92敲除后導(dǎo)致小鼠的睪丸縮小、附睪少精以及精子發(fā)生缺陷(Tongetal.,2012)。而基因Kit是精原細(xì)胞的標(biāo)識(shí),也涉及精原細(xì)胞的分化過(guò)程。雖然這些基因是否是miR-17-92以及miR-106b-25的靶基因還有待進(jìn)一步研究,但這些與精原細(xì)胞分化有關(guān)的基因在未分化的精原細(xì)胞中受到miR-17-92以及miR-106b-25的抑制,而在精原細(xì)胞分化的過(guò)程中,miR-17-92以及miR-106b-25的抑制又誘導(dǎo)這些基因的表達(dá)則得到證實(shí)(Tongetal.,2012)。miR-146在精原細(xì)胞分化的過(guò)程中具有調(diào)節(jié)RA的作用效果,miR-146過(guò)表達(dá)時(shí)具有阻礙精原細(xì)胞中RA信號(hào)的作用效果,而miR-146的表達(dá)抑制時(shí)則會(huì)導(dǎo)致協(xié)同效應(yīng)。miR-146能直接與基因Med1(mediator不同miRNA(miR-34c、 -182、 -183、 -146a、 miR-21、 miR-20、 miR-106a、 miR-135a、 miR-221 和 miR-222)參與SSCs的自我更新; miR-17-92基因簇和 miR-106b-25、let7家族、miR-146則參與調(diào)控SSCs的分化; miR-449、miR-34b/c、miR-469則存在于精母細(xì)胞和精子細(xì)胞中; 而miR-34a、-34b、-34c 和 miR-122則與精子發(fā)育相關(guān)(Yaoetal.,2015)。
圖 2 不同miRNA在哺乳動(dòng)物睪丸中不同的表達(dá)方式Fig.2 The expression patterns of miRNAs in various types of cells in mammalian testis
Numerous miRNAs (e.g.miR-34c, -182, -183 and -146a, miR-21, miR-20, miR-106a, miR-135a, miR-221,and miR-222) have been shown to regulate SSCs self-renewal; miR-17-92 cluster, miR-106b-25, let-7 family and miR-146 are involved in the regulation of mouse spermatogonial differentiation; miR-449, miR-34b/c and miR-469 are located in mouse spermatocytes and spermatids, while miR-34a, -34b, -34c and miR-122 are associated with sperm development (Yaoetal., 2015).
complex subunit 1)結(jié)合并抑制其表達(dá),MED1主要通過(guò)調(diào)控來(lái)自于細(xì)胞核激素的受體信號(hào)來(lái)影響細(xì)胞的分化,且還能直接與RA受體相結(jié)合,但是對(duì)于RA誘導(dǎo)的轉(zhuǎn)錄效果影響還有待進(jìn)一步研究,而miR-146表達(dá)或抑制將改變Med1基因的表達(dá)。對(duì)于RA處理過(guò)的精原細(xì)胞,當(dāng)miR-146的過(guò)量表達(dá)時(shí),會(huì)抑制基因Kit、Stra8(stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8)以及Sohlh2(spermatogenesis- and oogenesis-specific basic helix-loop-helix 2)的上調(diào),當(dāng)miR-146表達(dá)受到抑制時(shí),會(huì)促進(jìn)這些基因的上調(diào)(Huszar & Pavne,2013)。這就表明了miR-146在RA誘導(dǎo)的精原細(xì)胞分化路徑中通過(guò)調(diào)控靶基因來(lái)影響精原細(xì)胞的分化過(guò)程。此外,miR-34c在不同的物種細(xì)胞增殖、細(xì)胞凋亡以及細(xì)胞分化的過(guò)程中發(fā)揮作用(Corneyetal.,2007)。Yu等(2014)發(fā)現(xiàn),miR-34c通過(guò)靶向基因Nanos2調(diào)控SSCs的分化,并且促進(jìn)Nanos3、Scp3(single-cell protein 3)和Stra8等減數(shù)分裂相關(guān)基因的表達(dá)。以往的研究已表明,Nanos2基因?qū)儆谠谶M(jìn)化上保守且具有能與RNA結(jié)合局域的NANOS家族,能夠抑制SSCs的分化且維持SSCs的自我更新(Shen & Xie,2010)。在小鼠雄性生殖干細(xì)胞中,Nanos2基因能夠抑制減數(shù)分裂,反過(guò)來(lái)維持SSCs的穩(wěn)定(Suzuki & Saga,2008;Sadaetal.,2012)。Stra8基因的表達(dá)是雌雄生殖細(xì)胞進(jìn)入減數(shù)分裂的標(biāo)志,并且是減數(shù)分裂開(kāi)始不可或缺的。而Nanos3基因在不同物種的生殖細(xì)胞發(fā)育過(guò)程中發(fā)揮作用,如果蠅、青蛙、老鼠以及人類(lèi)(Julaton & Reijopera,2011)。在未分化的精原細(xì)胞中,Nanos2基因在抑制基因Nanos3、Scp3、Stra8的表達(dá),并使SSCs或者精原細(xì)胞保持未分化的狀態(tài)上具有重要作用。當(dāng)小鼠睪丸組織成熟時(shí),miR-34c通過(guò)靶向基因Nanos2消除基因Nanos3、Scp3、Stra8的抑制狀態(tài),并促進(jìn)SSCs或者精原細(xì)胞向分化狀態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)變(Yuetal.,2014)。
減數(shù)分裂是有性生殖個(gè)體在形成生殖細(xì)胞過(guò)程中發(fā)生的一種特殊分裂方式,在個(gè)體的繁殖和生命周期中處于核心地位。在減數(shù)分裂期間,染色體會(huì)經(jīng)歷一系列錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的結(jié)構(gòu)變化。在經(jīng)過(guò)一個(gè)較有絲分裂更長(zhǎng)的S期后,生殖細(xì)胞進(jìn)入第一次減數(shù)分裂的前期(Zickler & Kleckner,1998)。根據(jù)染色體在此期間的形態(tài)特征,分為細(xì)線期、偶線期、粗線期、雙線期以及終變期。最近研究發(fā)現(xiàn),在小鼠睪丸中顯著表達(dá)的miR-449主要存在于精母細(xì)胞和圓形精子細(xì)胞中,并且在減數(shù)分裂過(guò)程中能夠抑制E2F-pRb(E2F transcription factor-retinoblastoma protein pathway)路徑的活性,而miR-34b/c和miR-449表現(xiàn)出相同的調(diào)控作用(Bouhallieretal.,2010;Baoetal.,2012;Wuetal.,2014)。對(duì)于缺少miR-34b/c或者miR-449的個(gè)體沒(méi)有造成任何明顯的可識(shí)別表型,但是miR-34b/c以及miR-449的同時(shí)缺陷則會(huì)導(dǎo)致不育(Wuetal.,2014)。這就表明,對(duì)于特定miRNA調(diào)控的表型,需要采用二倍或者三倍的miRNA敲除法才可能消除不同miRNA功能冗余的影響。而miRNA-34簇也在牛精子中被發(fā)現(xiàn)(Tscherneretal.,2014)。此外miR-34c在小鼠粗線期精母細(xì)胞中通過(guò)靶向轉(zhuǎn)錄因子1(activating transcription factor 1,ATF1)調(diào)控精母細(xì)胞的凋亡(Liangetal.,2012)。而ATF1在小鼠早期胚胎發(fā)育階段調(diào)節(jié)維持細(xì)胞活性的信號(hào)是必不可少的(Bleckmannetal.,2002;Persengiev & Green, 2003)。這些研究都表明miR-34家族在精子發(fā)生過(guò)程中的重要性。
精母細(xì)胞經(jīng)過(guò)減數(shù)分裂后產(chǎn)生圓形的單倍體精子細(xì)胞,再經(jīng)過(guò)變態(tài)發(fā)育分化形成成熟精子,而染色質(zhì)的濃縮是細(xì)胞核濃縮形成成熟精子必不可少的。這一過(guò)程通過(guò)過(guò)渡蛋白(transition protein,TP)替換組蛋白,反過(guò)來(lái)又被精蛋白(protamine,Prm)替換來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn),所以TP和Prm在精子細(xì)胞延伸的變態(tài)發(fā)育過(guò)程至關(guān)重要。在小鼠粗線期的精母細(xì)胞以及圓形精子細(xì)胞中,miR-469通過(guò)與基因TP2和Prm2的mRNA編碼區(qū)域相結(jié)合,從而造成mRNA的降解并抑制其表達(dá),這對(duì)于精子發(fā)生后期精子成熟具有重要作用(Daietal.,2011)。而miR-122a在減數(shù)分裂以及減數(shù)分裂后的精子細(xì)胞中大量存在,通過(guò)與TP2基因mRNA的3’端非翻譯區(qū)相結(jié)合來(lái)抑制其表達(dá),這表明miR-122a在精子發(fā)生后期具有重要作用(Yuetal.,2005)。在小鼠的睪丸中發(fā)現(xiàn)大量miR-18,并在精子發(fā)生的過(guò)程中呈特定細(xì)胞表達(dá),通過(guò)下調(diào)熱休克轉(zhuǎn)錄因子2(heat shock transcription factor 2)來(lái)影響胚胎發(fā)育以及配子的形成(Bjorketal.,2010)。除此之外,更多的可能調(diào)控精子變態(tài)發(fā)育過(guò)程的miRNA還有待研究。
miRNA相關(guān)的Dicer、Drosha等蛋白在初級(jí)精母細(xì)胞減數(shù)分裂的粗線期發(fā)揮功能,其調(diào)控作用已通過(guò)大量嚙齒動(dòng)物基因敲除模型得到證實(shí)。由于缺少Dicer,生殖細(xì)胞的早期發(fā)育、精原細(xì)胞分化、精子變態(tài)發(fā)育及其穩(wěn)定性也受到影響(Maatouketal.,2008;Romeroetal.,2011)。小鼠胚胎細(xì)胞和精原細(xì)胞由于缺少Dicer表現(xiàn)出低下的增生能力,而精子發(fā)生也停滯于精原細(xì)胞的早期增殖與分化階段(Hayashietal.,2008)。此外,通過(guò)敲除AMH基因(anti-Mullerian hormone)導(dǎo)致小鼠睪丸支持細(xì)胞中Dicer的缺失,并引起精子的缺陷和附睪的持續(xù)退化以及小鼠的不育(Papaioannouetal.,2009)。在出生后小鼠的精原細(xì)胞早期發(fā)育過(guò)程中,特定生殖細(xì)胞中Dicer的敲除將導(dǎo)致睪丸的萎縮以及曲細(xì)精管中精子發(fā)生阻滯,但最明顯的缺陷表現(xiàn)在精子細(xì)胞的延伸階段(Korhonenetal.,2011)。而出生后小鼠精原細(xì)胞中Dicer的敲除將導(dǎo)致精子發(fā)生阻滯,并伴隨大量miRNA的缺失、睪丸轉(zhuǎn)錄組的表達(dá)失調(diào)以及性染色體基因的過(guò)度表達(dá)(Greenleeetal.,2012)。而小鼠表達(dá)有缺陷的DGCR8蛋白會(huì)增加精母細(xì)胞的凋亡以及精子細(xì)胞成熟過(guò)程中的缺陷,從而產(chǎn)生畸形精子甚至無(wú)精癥(Zimmermannetal.,2014)。除Dicer和DGCR8外,Drosha和AGO4在精子的發(fā)生過(guò)程中也具有重要作用。Drosha對(duì)于正常精子形態(tài)的形成至關(guān)重要,其缺陷能夠造成生殖細(xì)胞在減數(shù)分裂和減數(shù)分裂后的畸形(Wuetal.,2012)。而AGO4富集于精母細(xì)胞的細(xì)胞核中,使精母細(xì)胞從有絲分裂到減數(shù)分裂順利完成,其功能的喪失將會(huì)抑制生殖細(xì)胞在減數(shù)分裂Ⅰ階段某些特定miRNA的表達(dá)(Mathioudakisetal.,2012)。
近年來(lái)大量研究已表明,miRNA在哺乳動(dòng)物精子發(fā)生過(guò)程,包括有絲分裂、減數(shù)分裂以及精子變態(tài)發(fā)育階段,都具有重要的調(diào)控作用。雖然部分miRNA的某些調(diào)控功能已得到確定,但大部分miRNA的功能尚不明確,而miRNA的詳細(xì)作用機(jī)制也尚未完全闡明。在哺乳動(dòng)物精子發(fā)生過(guò)程中,不同miRNA調(diào)控作用表達(dá)的空間連續(xù)性以及交互作用也有待進(jìn)一步研究。此外,大部分miRNA的調(diào)控作用都是通過(guò)研究嚙齒動(dòng)物模型取得的,是否這些miRNA在人類(lèi)及其他哺乳動(dòng)物的精子發(fā)生過(guò)程中具有同樣的調(diào)控作用還有待考證。最近的研究表明隱睪癥患者的精原干細(xì)胞在體外能通過(guò)誘導(dǎo)分化形成單倍體精子并成功受精形成能發(fā)育到八細(xì)胞階段的胚胎細(xì)胞(Yangetal.,2014),闡明其中涉及miRNA的調(diào)控作用可能為男性不育提供新的治療方法。作為重要表觀遺傳調(diào)控因子的miRNA是在不改變基因序列的情況下調(diào)控基因表達(dá),因此更多新miRNA的發(fā)現(xiàn)有利于開(kāi)發(fā)靈活且安全的男性避孕新技術(shù)。
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The Roles of MicroRNAs in Mammalian Spermatogenesis
XU Chuanfei, WU Shixin, SUN Lei, CAI Xin*
(College of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology,Mianyang, Sichuan Province 621010, China)
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded noncoding RNAs about 20~24 nt in length. It has been suggested that miRNAs function as guide molecules in post-transcriptional regulation by base pairing with target mRNAs, and lead to mRNA cleavage or translational repression. Since the first miRNAs (lin-4 andlet-7 ) discovered inCaenorhabditiselegans, a larger number of miRNAs have been identified from different species in the past 20 years. Along with the application and development of gene cloning, expression and functional analysis in recent years, several evidences suggested that miRNAs were closely related to spermatogenesis by the analysis of miRNA changes in testicular tissue from different animal species. In addition, such miRNA associated proteins as Dicer and Drosha play regulatory roles in pachytene spermatocyte during meiosis as confirmed by a lot of gene-knockout rodent models. This article summarized the recent progress in the studies of synthesis and function mechanism of miRNAs as well as their regulation roles in spermatogenesis.
miRNA; mammal; spermatogenesis; post-transcriptional regulation
2016-04-12 接受日期:2016-07-20
國(guó)家自然科學(xué)基金項(xiàng)目(31572396)
徐傳飛(1993—), 男, 碩士研究生, 主要從事動(dòng)物分子遺傳學(xué)研究, E-mail:1982978434@qq.com
*通信作者Corresponding author, E-mail:caixin2323@126.com
10.11984/j.issn.1000-7083.20160081
Q78
A
1000-7083(2016)05-0789-08