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Miao J, Wang C, Chen W, Wang Y, Kakasani S, Wang Y. GASZ self-interaction clusters mitochondria into the intermitochondrial cement for proper germ cell development. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgad480. [PMID: 38205030 PMCID: PMC10781510 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Mitochondrial features and activities vary in a cell type- and developmental stage-dependent manner to critically impact cell function and lineage development. Particularly in male germ cells, mitochondria are uniquely clustered into intermitochondrial cement (IMC), an electron-dense granule in the cytoplasm to support proper spermatogenesis. But it remains puzzling how mitochondria assemble into such a stable structure as IMC without limiting membrane during development. Here, we showed that GASZ (germ cell-specific, ankyrin repeat, SAM and basic leucine zipper domain containing protein), a mitochondrion-localized germ cell-specific protein, self-interacted with each other to cluster mitochondria and maintain protein stability for IMC assembling. When the self-interaction of GASZ was disrupted by either deleting its critical interaction motif or using a blocking peptide, the IMC structure was destabilized, which in turn led to impaired spermatogenesis. Notably, the blocked spermatogenesis was reversible once GASZ self-interaction was recovered. Our findings thus reveal a critical mechanism by which mitochondrion-based granules are properly assembled to support germ cell development while providing an alternative strategy for developing nonhormonal male contraceptives by targeting IMC protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junru Miao
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Chuanyun Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Yongsheng Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Shalin Kakasani
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Yuan Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
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Mitochondria Associated Germinal Structures in Spermatogenesis: piRNA Pathway Regulation and Beyond. Cells 2020; 9:cells9020399. [PMID: 32050598 PMCID: PMC7072634 DOI: 10.3390/cells9020399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple specific granular structures are present in the cytoplasm of germ cells, termed nuage, which are electron-dense, non-membranous, close to mitochondria and/or nuclei, variant size yielding to different compartments harboring different components, including intermitochondrial cement (IMC), piP-body, and chromatoid body (CB). Since mitochondria exhibit different morphology and topographical arrangements to accommodate specific needs during spermatogenesis, the distribution of mitochondria-associated nuage is also dynamic. The most relevant nuage structure with mitochondria is IMC, also called pi-body, present in prospermatogonia, spermatogonia, and spermatocytes. IMC is primarily enriched with various Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) proteins and mainly functions as piRNA biogenesis, transposon silencing, mRNA translation, and mitochondria fusion. Importantly, our previous work reported that mitochondria-associated ER membranes (MAMs) are abundant in spermatogenic cells and contain many crucial proteins associated with the piRNA pathway. Provocatively, IMC functionally communicates with other nuage structures, such as piP-body, to perform its complex functions in spermatogenesis. Although little is known about the formation of both IMC and MAMs, its distinctive characters have attracted considerable attention. Here, we review the insights gained from studying the structural components of mitochondria-associated germinal structures, including IMC, CB, and MAMs, which are pivotal structures to ensure genome integrity and male fertility. We discuss the roles of the structural components in spermatogenesis and piRNA biogenesis, which provide new insights into mitochondria-associated germinal structures in germ cell development and male reproduction.
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Zhang J, Wang Q, Wang M, Jiang M, Wang Y, Sun Y, Wang J, Xie T, Tang C, Tang N, Song H, Cui D, Chao R, Ding S, Ni B, Chen X, Wang Y. GASZ and mitofusin-mediated mitochondrial functions are crucial for spermatogenesis. EMBO Rep 2015; 17:220-34. [PMID: 26711429 DOI: 10.15252/embr.201540846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nuage is an electron-dense cytoplasmic structure in germ cells that contains ribonucleoproteins and participates in piRNA biosynthesis. Despite the observation that clustered mitochondria are associated with a specific type of nuage called intermitochondrial cement (pi-body), the importance of mitochondrial functions in nuage formation and spermatogenesis is yet to be determined. We show that a germ cell-specific protein GASZ contains a functional mitochondrial targeting signal and is largely localized at mitochondria both endogenously in germ cells and in somatic cells when ectopically expressed. In addition, GASZ interacts with itself at the outer membrane of mitochondria and promotes mitofusion in a mitofusin/MFN-dependent manner. In mice, deletion of the mitochondrial targeting signal reveals that mitochondrial localization of GASZ is essential for nuage formation, mitochondrial clustering, transposon repression, and spermatogenesis. MFN1 deficiency also leads to defects in mitochondrial activity and male infertility. Our data thus reveal a requirement for GASZ and MFN-mediated mitofusion during spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mingsong Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Manxi Jiang
- Department of Laboratory Animal Science, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongsheng Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun Sun
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Junpeng Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Taorong Xie
- Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Chao Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Nannan Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huili Song
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Di Cui
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruihua Chao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuzhe Ding
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bing Ni
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuejin Chen
- Department of Laboratory Animal Science, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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