Spermatogenesis-related ring finger gene ZNF230 promoter: identification and functional analysis

Regulatory mechanisms of SoxD transcription factors and their influences on male fertility

Members of the SRY-related box (SOX) subfamily D (SoxD) of transcription factors are well conserved among vertebrate species and play important roles in different stages of male reproductive development. In mammals, the SoxD subfamily contains three members: SOX5, SOX6 and SOX13. Here, we describe their implications in testicular development and spermatogenesis, contributing to fertility. We also cover the mechanisms of action of SoxD transcription factors in gene regulation throughout male development. The specificity of activation of target genes by SoxD members depends, in part, on their post-translational modifications and interactions with other partners. Sperm production in adult males requires the coordination in the regulation of gene expression by different members of the SoxD subfamily of transcription factors in the testis. Specifically, the regulation of genes promoting adequate spermatogenesis by SoxD members is discussed in comparison between species.

Genome-wide identification and annotation of SNPs and their mapping in candidate genes related to milk production and fertility traits in Badri cattle

This study was conducted in Badri cattle using a double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing approach. The study aimed to identify and annotate high confidence single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their mapping in candidate genes related to production and fertility in dairy cattle. A total of 7,168,552 genome-wide SNPs were initially identified in Badri cattle by alignment with the Bos indicus reference genome. After filtration of SNPs, 65,483 high confidence SNPs were retained and further used for downstream analysis. Annotation of high confidence SNPs revealed 99.197% SNPs had modifier impact, 0.326% SNPs were low impact, 0.036% were high impact, and 0.441% were moderate impact SNPs. Most SNPs in Badri cattle were found in intergenic, transcript and intronic regions. The candidate genes for milk production PRKCE, ABCG2, GHR, EPS8, CAST and NRXN1 were found to harbour maximum high confidence variants. Among candidate genes for fertility in cattle, ATP2B1, SOX5, WDR27, ARHGAP12, CACNA1D, ANKRD6, GRIA3, ZNF521 and CAST822 have maximum high confidence variants mapped in them. The SNPs found mapped in the candidate genes will be important genetic tools in the search for phenotype-modifying nucleotide changes and will aid in formulating relevant genetic improvement programmes for dairy cattle.

Expression profiles of Sox transcription factors within the postnatal rodent testes

SRY-related box (Sox) transcription factors are conserved among vertebrate species. These proteins regulate multiple processes including sex determination and testis differentiation of the male embryo. Members of the Sox family have been identified in pre- and postnatal testis and are known to play an important role in sex determination (Sry, Sox9), male gonadal development, and fertility (Sox4, Sox8, Sox30). However, their expression profiles per cell types remain elusive. The objectives of this research were to characterize the expression profiles of Sox family members within adult testes using publically available datasets and to determine whether these findings are consistent with literature as well as immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization results. We have found that Sox4, Sox8, Sox9, and Sox12 are highly expressed in Sertoli cells, whereas Sox5, Sox6, and Sox30 were typically expressed in spermatocytes and spermatids. Spermatogonia were characterized by the expressions of Sox3, Sox4, Sox12, Sox13, and Sox18. Hence, these results suggest that Sox transcription factors may play different roles according to cell types of the adult mammalian testis.

Transcriptional regulation of human sperm-associated antigen 16 gene by S-SOX5

Background

The mammalian sperm-associated antigen 16 gene (Spag16) uses alternative promoters to produce two major transcript isoforms (Spag16L and Spag16S) and encode proteins that are involved in the cilia/flagella formation and motility. In silico analysis of both mouse and human SPAG16L promoters reveals the existence of multiple putative SOX5 binding sites. Given that the SOX5 gene encodes a 48-kDa transcription factor (S-SOX5) and the presence of putative SOX5 binding sites at the SPAG16L promoter, regulation of SPAG16L expression by S-SOX5 was studied in the present work.

Results

S-SOX5 activated human SPAG16L promoter activity in the human bronchial epithelia cell line BEAS-2B cells. Mutation of S-SOX5 binding sites abolished the stimulatory effect. Overexpression of S-SOX5 resulted in a significant increase in the abundance of SPAG16L transcripts whereas silencing of S-SOX5 by RNAi largely reduced the SPAG16L expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that S-SOX5 directly interacts with the SPAG16L promoter.

Conclusion

S-SOX5 regulates transcription of human SPAG16L gene via directly binding to the promoter of SPAG16L. It has been reported that expression of sperm-associated antigen 6 (SPAG6), encoding another axonemal protein, is activated by S-SOX5. Therefore, S-SOX5 may regulate formation of motile cilia/flagella through globally mediating expression of genes encoding axonemal proteins.

Expressions of Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 transcription factors in mice testis during postnatal development

SRY-related box (Sox) transcription factors are conserved among vertebrate species. These proteins regulate multiple processes including sex determination and testis differentiation of the male embryo. Although members of the Sox family have been identified in pre- and postnatal Sertoli cells, they have never been characterized in adult Leydig cells. The objectives of this research were to identify expressions of Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 in mice Leydig cell cultures and to establish their expression profiles in postnatal mice testes at different developmental stages. Methods used include Western blots and qPCR of stimulated MA-10 cell cultures and whole mice testes. Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 proteins were detected in MA-10 cells as well as whole mouse testis. Although Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 mRNA levels from whole mice testes tended to increase according to postnatal development, these results were not significant. Sox members were also detected in whole mice testis by Western Blot. However, Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 protein expressions remained relatively constant during postnatal development from postnatal (P) day 60 to P365. Being newly characterized in the mouse testis, Sox13 was mainly localized by immunofluorescence within the nuclei of cells from seminiferous tubules, possibly spermatocytes and Sertoli cells. In addition, Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 proteins were characterized in the nuclei of MA-10 Leydig cell cultures. Their expressions and transcriptional activities remained unaffected by activators of the cAMP/PKA pathway. Thus, Sox9, Sox5, and Sox13 transcription factors are expressed in postnatal testis and may regulate multiple functions such as steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis.

Evaluation of five candidate genes from GWAS for association with oligozoospermia in a Han Chinese population

Background

Oligozoospermia is one of the severe forms of idiopathic male infertility. However, its pathology is largely unknown, and few genetic factors have been defined. Our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified four risk loci for non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA).

Objective

To investigate the potentially functional genetic variants (including not only common variants, but also less-common and rare variants) of these loci on spermatogenic impairment, especially oligozoospermia.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A total of 784 individuals with oligozoospermia and 592 healthy controls were recruited to this study from March 2004 and January 2011.

Measurements

We conducted a two-stage study to explore the association between oligozoospermia and new makers near NOA risk loci. In the first stage, we used next generation sequencing (NGS) in 96 oligozoospermia cases and 96 healthy controls to screen oligozoospermia-susceptible genetic variants. Next, we validated these variants in a large cohort containing 688 cases and 496 controls by SNPscan for high-throughput Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping.

Results and Limitations

Totally, we observed seven oligozoospermia associated variants (rs3791185 and rs2232015 in PRMT6, rs146039840 and rs11046992 in Sox5, rs1129332 in PEX10, rs3197744 in SIRPA, rs1048055 in SIRPG) in the first stage. In the validation stage, rs3197744 in SIRPA and rs11046992 in Sox5 were associated with increased risk of oligozoospermia with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.62 (P  =  0.005, 95%CI 1.58-13.4) and 1.82 (P  =  0.005, 95%CI 1.01-1.64), respectively. Further investigation in larger populations and functional characterizations are needed to validate our findings.

Conclusions

Our study provides evidence of independent oligozoospermia risk alleles driven by variants in the potentially functional regions of genes discovered by GWAS. Our findings suggest that integrating sequence data with large-scale genotyping will serve as an effective strategy for discovering risk alleles in the future.

Haploinsufficiency of SOX5 at 12p12.1 is associated with developmental delays with prominent language delay, behavior problems, and mild dysmorphic features

SOX5 encodes a transcription factor involved in the regulation of chondrogenesis and the development of the nervous system. Despite its important developmental roles, SOX5 disruption has yet to be associated with human disease. We report one individual with a reciprocal translocation breakpoint within SOX5, eight individuals with intragenic SOX5 deletions (four are apparently de novo and one inherited from an affected parent), and seven individuals with larger 12p12 deletions encompassing SOX5. Common features in these subjects include prominent speech delay, intellectual disability, behavior abnormalities, and dysmorphic features. The phenotypic impact of the deletions may depend on the location of the deletion and, consequently, which of the three major SOX5 protein isoforms are affected. One intragenic deletion, involving only untranslated exons, was present in a more mildly affected subject, was inherited from a healthy parent and grandparent, and is similar to a deletion found in a control cohort. Therefore, some intragenic SOX5 deletions may have minimal phenotypic effect. Based on the location of the deletions in the subjects compared to the controls, the de novo nature of most of these deletions, and the phenotypic similarities among cases, SOX5 appears to be a dosage-sensitive, developmentally important gene.

Transcriptional regulation of an axonemal central apparatus gene, sperm-associated antigen 6, by a SRY-related high mobility group transcription factor, S-SOX5

SOX5 is a transcription factor with homology to the high mobility group box region of the testis-determining factor, SRY. Both the mouse and human SOX5 genes encode a 48-kDa SOX5 protein (S-SOX5) that is only present in tissues containing cells with motile cilia/flagella. The mammalian sperm-associated antigen 6 gene (SPAG6) encodes an axoneme central apparatus protein. Because human and mouse SPAG6 gene promoters contain multiple potential binding sites for SOX5, SPAG6 gene regulation by S-SOX5 was investigated in BEAS-2B cells, a line derived from human bronchial cells. Like FOXJ1, a transcription factor known to be essential for motile ciliogenesis, S-SOX5 stimulated mouse and human SPAG6 promoter function in BEAS-2B cells, but the effect was abrogated when the SOX5 binding sites were mutated or deleted. S-SOX5 and FOXJ1 functioned cooperatively in stimulating SPAG6 promoter activity. The SPAG6 message was up-regulated when S-SOX5 was overexpressed in BEAS-2B cells, and silencing of S-SOX5 by RNA interference down-regulated SPAG6 transcripts. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and EMSA experiments demonstrated that S-SOX5 associates with the SPAG6 promoter directly. The present study demonstrates that SPAG6 is a S-SOX5 target gene, indicating a key role for S-SOX5 in the formation and function of motile cilia.

Sp1 plays an important role in regulating the transcription of ZNF313

The ZNF313 gene has the highest transcription level in fertile male testes and may be related to human spermatogenesis. The deletion-mutated plasmids of ZNF313 promoter were constructed and transfected into HEK293 cells. The result showed that the fragment from nt -157 to +8 has a basal transcriptional activity. A functional Sp1 binding site was identified by site-directed mutation test and mithramycin A treatment. A 447-bp based at +233 to -213 exhibits a characteristic CpG island, which overlaps with the promoter region. Our work suggests that ZNF313 is controlled at the transcriptional level, and a common mechanism controlling the basal transcription of ZNF313 gene exists.