Fatty acids suppress the steroidogenesis of the MA-10 mouse Leydig cell line by downregulating CYP11A1 and inhibiting late-stage autophagy

Functional role of autophagy in testicular and ovarian steroidogenesis

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular recycling process that maintains cellular homeostasis. Despite extensive research in endocrine contexts, the role of autophagy in ovarian and testicular steroidogenesis remains elusive. The significant role of autophagy in testosterone production suggests potential treatments for conditions like oligospermia and azoospermia. Further, influence of autophagy in folliculogenesis, ovulation, and luteal development emphasizes its importance for improved fertility and reproductive health. Thus, investigating autophagy in gonadal cells is clinically significant. Understanding these processes could transform treatments for endocrine disorders, enhancing reproductive health and longevity. Herein, we provide the functional role of autophagy in testicular and ovarian steroidogenesis to date, highlighting its modulation in testicular steroidogenesis and its impact on hormone synthesis, follicle development, and fertility therapies.

TRPM2-dependent autophagy inhibition exacerbates oxidative stress-induced CXCL16 secretion by keratinocytes in vitiligo

Vitiligo is a depigmented skin disease due to the destruction of melanocytes. Under oxidative stress, keratinocyte-derived chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 16 (CXCL16) plays a critical role in recruiting CD8+ T cells, which kill melanocytes. Autophagy serves as a protective cell survival mechanism and impairment of autophagy has been linked to increased secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines. However, the role of autophagy in the secretion of CXCL16 under oxidative stress has not been investigated. Herein, we initially found that autophagy was suppressed in both keratinocytes of vitiligo lesions and keratinocytes exposed to oxidative stress in vitro. Autophagy inhibition also promoted CXCL16 secretion. Furthermore, upregulated transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 2 (TRPM2) functioned as an upstream oxidative stress sensor to inhibit autophagy. Moreover, TRPM2-mediated Ca2+ influx activated calpain to shear autophagy related 5 (Atg5) and Atg12-Atg5 conjugate formation was blocked to inhibit autophagy under oxidative stress. More importantly, Atg5 downregulation enhanced the binding of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) to the CXCL16 promoter region by activating Tank-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), thus promoting CXCL16 secretion. These findings suggested that TRPM2-restrained autophagy promotes CXCL16 secretion via the Atg5-TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathway under oxidative stress. Inhibition of TRPM2 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of vitiligo. © 2024 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

The constructive and destructive impact of autophagy on both genders' reproducibility, a comprehensive review

Reproduction is characterized by a series of massive renovations at molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. Recent studies have strongly tended to reveal the involvement of basic molecular pathways such as autophagy, a highly conserved eukaryotic cellular recycling, during reproductive processes. This review comprehensively describes the current knowledge, updated to September 2022, of autophagy contribution during reproductive processes in males including spermatogenesis, sperm motility and viability, and male sex hormones and females including germ cells and oocytes viability, ovulation, implantation, fertilization, and female sex hormones. Furthermore, the consequences of disruption in autophagic flux on the reproductive disorders including oligospermia, azoospermia, asthenozoospermia, teratozoospermia, globozoospermia, premature ovarian insufficiency, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, and other disorders related to infertility are discussed as well.Abbreviations: AKT/protein kinase B: AKT serine/threonine kinase; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ATG: autophagy related; E2: estrogen; EDs: endocrine disruptors; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FSH: follicle stimulating hormone; FOX: forkhead box; GCs: granulosa cells; HIF: hypoxia inducible factor; IVF: in vitro fertilization; IVM: in vitro maturation; LCs: Leydig cells; LDs: lipid droplets; LH: luteinizing hormone; LRWD1: leucine rich repeats and WD repeat domain containing 1; MAP1LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; NFKB/NF-kB: nuclear factor kappa B; P4: progesterone; PCOS: polycystic ovarian syndrome; PDLIM1: PDZ and LIM domain 1; PI3K: phosphoinositide 3-kinase; PtdIns3P: phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate; PtdIns3K: class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; POI: premature ovarian insufficiency; ROS: reactive oxygen species; SCs: Sertoli cells; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; TSGA10: testis specific 10; TST: testosterone; VCP: vasolin containing protein.

Dysregulated genes in undifferentiated spermatogonia and Sertoli cells are associated with the spermatogenic arrest in cattleyak

Hybrid male sterility (HMS) is a reproductive isolation mechanism limiting the formation of fertile offspring through interspecific fertilization. Cattleyak is the interspecific hybrid presenting significant heterosis in several economic traits, but HMS restricted its wide reproduction in cettleyak breeding. In this study, we detected the specifically expressed genes of a variety of cells (undifferentiated spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes, haploid spermatids, sperm, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells, and macrophages) in the testis of yak and cattleyak, and found that the spermatogenesis of cattleyak might be blocked at meiosis I, and the expression of niche factors (NR5A1, GATA4, STAR, CYP11A1, CD68, TNF, and CX3CR1) in undifferentiated spermatogonia niche was abnormal. Then we isolated the undifferentiated spermatogonia and Sertoli cells from yak and cattleyak by enzyme digestion, and detected the specific genes in the two bovid testicular cells as well as the proliferation capacity of the undifferentiated spermatogonia. These results indicated that weak proliferation ability and scarce number of undifferentiated spermatogonia and abnormal gene expressions in Sertoli cells may contribute to male sterility of cattleyak.