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Wood TW, Henriques WS, Cullen HB, Romero M, Blengini CS, Sarathy S, Sorkin J, Bekele H, Jin C, Kim S, Chemiakine A, Khondker RC, Isola JV, Stout MB, Gennarino VA, Mogessie B, Jain D, Schindler K, Suh Y, Wiedenheft B, Berchowitz LE. The retrotransposon-derived capsid genes PNMA1 and PNMA4 maintain reproductive capacity. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4559920. [PMID: 39041030 PMCID: PMC11261967 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4559920/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
The human genome contains 24 gag-like capsid genes derived from deactivated retrotransposons conserved among eutherians. Although some of their encoded proteins retain the ability to form capsids and even transfer cargo, their fitness benefit has remained elusive. Here we show that the gag-like genes PNMA1 and PNMA4 support reproductive capacity during aging. Analysis of donated human ovaries shows that expression of both genes declines normally with age, while several PNMA1 and PNMA4 variants identified in genome-wide association studies are causally associated with low testosterone, altered puberty onset, or obesity. Six-week-old mice lacking either Pnma1 or Pnma4 are indistinguishable from wild-type littermates, but by six months the mutant mice become prematurely subfertile, with precipitous drops in sex hormone levels, gonadal atrophy, and abdominal obesity; overall they produce markedly fewer offspring than controls. These findings expand our understanding of factors that maintain human reproductive health and lend insight into the domestication of retrotransposon-derived genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W.P. Wood
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - William S. Henriques
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Harrison B. Cullen
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Mayra Romero
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Cecilia S. Blengini
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Shreya Sarathy
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Julia Sorkin
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Hilina Bekele
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Chen Jin
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Seungsoo Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Alexei Chemiakine
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Rishad C. Khondker
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - José V.V. Isola
- Aging & Metabolism Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Michael B. Stout
- Aging & Metabolism Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Vincenzo A. Gennarino
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Initiative for Columbia Ataxia and Tremor, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Binyam Mogessie
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Devanshi Jain
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Karen Schindler
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Yousin Suh
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Blake Wiedenheft
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Luke E. Berchowitz
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s and the Aging Brain, New York, NY, USA
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Wood TWP, Henriques WS, Cullen HB, Romero M, Blengini CS, Sarathy S, Sorkin J, Bekele H, Jin C, Kim S, Chemiakine A, Khondker RC, Isola JVV, Stout MB, Gennarino VA, Mogessie B, Jain D, Schindler K, Suh Y, Wiedenheft B, Berchowitz LE. The retrotransposon - derived capsid genes PNMA1 and PNMA4 maintain reproductive capacity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.11.592987. [PMID: 38798495 PMCID: PMC11118267 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.11.592987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The human genome contains 24 gag -like capsid genes derived from deactivated retrotransposons conserved among eutherians. Although some of their encoded proteins retain the ability to form capsids and even transfer cargo, their fitness benefit has remained elusive. Here we show that the gag -like genes PNMA1 and PNMA4 support reproductive capacity. Six-week-old mice lacking either Pnma1 or Pnma4 are indistinguishable from wild-type littermates, but by six months the mutant mice become prematurely subfertile, with precipitous drops in sex hormone levels, gonadal atrophy, and abdominal obesity; overall they produce markedly fewer offspring than controls. Analysis of donated human ovaries shows that expression of both genes declines normally with aging, while several PNMA1 and PNMA4 variants identified in genome-wide association studies are causally associated with low testosterone, altered puberty onset, or obesity. These findings expand our understanding of factors that maintain human reproductive health and lend insight into the domestication of retrotransposon-derived genes.
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Dunkley S, Mogessie B. Actin limits egg aneuploidies associated with female reproductive aging. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadc9161. [PMID: 36662854 PMCID: PMC9858517 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc9161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Aging-related centromeric cohesion loss underlies premature separation of sister chromatids and egg aneuploidy in reproductively older females. Here, we show that F-actin maintains chromatid association after cohesion deterioration in aged eggs. F-actin disruption in aged mouse eggs exacerbated untimely dissociation of sister chromatids, while its removal in young eggs induced extensive chromatid separation events generally only seen in advanced reproductive ages. In young eggs containing experimentally reduced cohesion, F-actin removal accelerated premature splitting and scattering of sister chromatids in a microtubule dynamics-dependent manner, suggesting that actin counteracts chromatid-pulling spindle forces. Consistently, F-actin stabilization restricted scattering of unpaired chromatids generated by complete degradation of centromeric cohesion proteins. We conclude that actin mitigates egg aneuploidies arising from age-related cohesion depletion by limiting microtubule-driven separation and dispersion of sister chromatids. This is supported by our finding that spindle-associated F-actin structures are disrupted in eggs of reproductively older females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Dunkley
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Binyam Mogessie
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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Dunkley S, Scheffler K, Mogessie B. Cytoskeletal form and function in mammalian oocytes and zygotes. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2022; 75:102073. [PMID: 35364486 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2022.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The actin and microtubule cytoskeletons of mammalian oocytes and zygotes exist in distinct forms at various subcellular locations. This enables each cytoskeletal system to perform vastly different functions in time and space within the same cell. In recent years, key discovery enabling tools including light-sensitive microscopy assays have helped to illuminate cytoskeletal form and function in female reproductive cell biology. New findings include unexpected participation of F-actin in oocyte chromosome segregation, oocyte specific modes of spindle self-organization as well as existence of nuclear actin polymers whose functions are only starting to emerge. Functional actin-microtubule interactions have also been identified as an important feature that supports mammalian embryo development. Other advances have revealed reproductive age-related changes in chromosome structure and dynamics that predispose mammalian eggs to aneuploidy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Dunkley
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK
| | | | - Binyam Mogessie
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK; Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
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Scheffler K, Giannini F, Lemonnier T, Mogessie B. The prophase oocyte nucleus is a homeostatic G-actin buffer. J Cell Sci 2022; 135:274227. [PMID: 35112707 PMCID: PMC8977058 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.259807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Formation of healthy mammalian eggs from oocytes requires specialised F-actin structures. F-actin disruption produces aneuploid eggs, which are a leading cause of human embryo deaths, genetic disorders, and infertility. We found that oocytes contain prominent nuclear F-actin structures that are correlated with meiotic developmental capacity. We demonstrate that nuclear F-actin is a conserved feature of healthy mammalian oocytes and declines significantly with female reproductive ageing. Actin monomers used for nuclear F-actin assembly are sourced from an excess pool in the oocyte cytoplasm. Increasing monomeric G-actin transfer from the cytoplasm to the nucleus or directly enriching the nucleus with monomers leads to assembly of stable nuclear F-actin bundles that significantly restrict chromatin mobility. Conversely, reducing G-actin monomer transfer by blocking nuclear import triggers assembly of a dense cytoplasmic F-actin network that is incompatible with healthy oocyte development. Our data overall suggest that the large oocyte nucleus helps to maintain cytoplasmic F-actin organisation and that defects in this function could be linked with reproductive age-related female infertility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tom Lemonnier
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK
| | - Binyam Mogessie
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK.,Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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