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Han X, Zhang C, Ma X, Yan X, Xiong B, Shen W, Yin S, Zhang H, Sun Q, Zhao Y. Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M5 is involved in spermatogenesis through the modification of cell-cell junctions. Reproduction 2021; 162:47-59. [PMID: 33970124 PMCID: PMC8183636 DOI: 10.1530/rep-21-0079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) antagonists have been reported to decrease male fertility; however, the roles of mAChRs in spermatogenesis and the underlying mechanisms are not understood yet. During spermatogenesis, extensive remodeling between Sertoli cells and/or germ cells interfaces takes place to accommodate the transport of developing germ cells across the blood-testis barrier (BTB) and adluminal compartment. The cell–cell junctions play a vital role in the spermatogenesis process. This study used ICR male mice and spermatogonial cells (C18-4) and Sertoli cells (TM-4). shRNA of control or M5 gene was injected into 5-week-old ICR mice testes. Ten days post-viral grafting, mice were deeply anesthetized with pentobarbital and the testes were collected. One testicle was fresh frozen for RNA-seq analysis or Western blotting (WB). The second testicle was fixed for immunofluorescence staining (IHF). C18-4 or TM-4 cells were treated with shRNA of control or M5 gene. Then, the cells were collected for RNA-seq analysis, WB, or IHF. Knockdown of mAChR M5 disrupted mouse spermatogenesis and damaged the actin-based cytoskeleton and many types of junction proteins in both Sertoli cells and germ cells. M5 knockdown decreased Phldb2 expression in both germ cells and Sertoli cells which suggested that Phldb2 may be involved in cytoskeleton and cell–cell junction formation to regulate spermatogenesis. Our investigation has elucidated a novel role for mAChR M5 in the regulation of spermatogenesis through the interactions of Phldb2 and cell–cell junctions. M5 may be an attractive future therapeutic target in the treatment of male reproductive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Han
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Cong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaowei Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Bohui Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Shen
- College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Shen Yin
- College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongfu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingyuan Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China.,Fertility Preservation Lab, Reproductive Medicine Center, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
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Awogbindin IO, Adedara IA, Adeniyi PA, Agedah AE, Oyetunde BF, Olorunkalu PD, Ogbuewu E, Akindoyeni IA, Mustapha YE, Ezekiel OG, Farombi EO. Nigral and ventral tegmental area lesioning induces testicular and sperm morphological abnormalities in a rotenone model of Parkinson's disease. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY 2020; 78:103412. [PMID: 32439558 DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2020.103412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Although sexual health is affected by Parkinson's disease (PD), the effect on testicular health and/or sperm quality is not well discussed. After 21 days of rotenone lesioning, we observed dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra and hypothalamus. There were minimal SPACA-1-expressing epididymal spermatozoa with morphological abnormalities, scanty luminal spermatozoa and reduced testicular spermatids and post-meiotic germ cells indicating hypospermatogenesis. Occludin-expressing sertoli cells were dispersed over a wide area indicating compromised blood-testes barrier. Activated caspase-3 expression was intense while immunoreactivity of spermatogenic-enhancing SRY and GADD45 g was weak. Although serum follicle stimulating hormone level was not affected, the lesion was associated with reduced serum testosterone level, testicular oxidative damage and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity, even when rotenone was not detected in the testes. Together, dopaminergic lesions may mediate testicular and sperm abnormalities via the brain-hypothalamic-testicular circuit independent of the pituitary, thereby establishing a causal link between Parkinsonism and reproductive dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ifeoluwa O Awogbindin
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Isaac A Adedara
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Philip A Adeniyi
- Cell Biology and Neurotoxicity Unit, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Alberta E Agedah
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Bisola F Oyetunde
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Precious D Olorunkalu
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Emmanuel Ogbuewu
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Inioluwa A Akindoyeni
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Yusuf E Mustapha
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Oluwatoyin G Ezekiel
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Ebenezer O Farombi
- Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
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Spasojevic N, Jovanovic P, Dronjak S. Molecular basis of chronic stress-induced hippocampal lateral asymmetry in rats and impact on learning and memory. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 100:388-94. [PMID: 24317346 DOI: 10.1556/aphysiol.100.2013.4.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Neurochemical lateralization has been demonstrated in the rat brain suggesting that such lateralization might contribute to behavior. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine neurochemical asymmetry in the hippocampus, molecular basis of neurochemical lateralization and its impact on spatial learning and memory. Changes in noradrenaline content, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) were studied in the right and left hippocampus of naive control and chronically isolated rats, by applying TaqMan RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Hippocampal-based spatial learning and memory were evaluated using the Barnes maze. In control rats an asymmetrical right-left distribution of noradrenaline content and gene expression of catecholamine synthesizing enzyme was found. Chronic psychosocial stress further emphasized asymmetry. Isolation stress reduced noradrenaline content only in the right hippocampus. No changes were observed in gene expression and protein levels of TH in the right hippocampus, whereas expression of catecholamine synthesizing enzyme was elevated in the left hippocampus. Reduced noradrenaline content in the right hippocampus did not cause impairment in spatial learning and memory. Our findings suggest that chronic psychosocial stress reduces noradrenaline stores in the right hippocampus which may be caused by molecular asymmetry, but it does not affect spatial learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Spasojevic
- University of Belgrade Institute of Nuclear Sciences "Vinca", Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology 11000 Belgrade Serbia PO Box 522-090
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Selvage DJ, Parsons L, Rivier C. Role played by brainstem neurons in regulating testosterone secretion via a direct neural pathway between the hypothalamus and the testes. Endocrinology 2006; 147:3070-5. [PMID: 16556770 DOI: 10.1210/en.2005-1358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We previously reported anatomical and functional evidence for a direct, inhibitory neural pathway that regulates testosterone (T) secretion independently of the pituitary. This pathway is activated by the intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of agents that stimulate stress responses, such as IL-1beta, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and norepinephrine (NE), which results in a blunted T response to the administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Blunting of the T response is mediated by central beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation. CRF, but not ethanol (EtOH) or IL-1beta, acts directly on the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus to activate the pathway. Here we explored the role played by brain areas hypothesized to be part of this pathway, such as neurons in the dorsal pons [including the locus coeruleus (LC) of the brainstem], where NE is produced. Microinfusion of EtOH or IL-1beta, but not CRF, into these neurons activated the pathway. Electrolytic lesions of this region significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of icv-administered EtOH on hCG-induced T release, while having no effect on the ability of IL-1beta or CRF to do so. However, the icv administration of IL-1beta, EtOH, or CRF, in doses that rapidly inhibit the T response to hCG, all caused a significant depletion of NE from the LC. Collectively, these results indicate that in addition to the paraventricular nucleus, the brainstem area containing the LC is part of a neural pathway that connects the brain to the testes independently of the pituitary. We also speculate that EtOH may stimulate this pathway through NE-dependent activation of the dorsal pons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Selvage
- The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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Herman M, Rivier C. Activation of a neural brain-testicular pathway rapidly lowers Leydig cell levels of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor while increasing levels of neuronal nitric oxide synthase. Endocrinology 2006; 147:624-33. [PMID: 16239298 DOI: 10.1210/en.2005-0879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Activation of a neural brain-testicular pathway by the intracerebroventricular injection of the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (ISO), the hypothalamic peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), or alcohol (EtOH) rapidly decreases the testosterone (T) response to human chorionic gonadotropin. To elucidate the intratesticular mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon, we investigated the influence of intracerebroventricular-injected ISO, CRF, or EtOH on levels of the steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein, the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), and the cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme in semipurified Leydig cells. ISO (10 microg), CRF (5 microg), or EtOH (5 microl of 200 proof, a dose that does not induce neuronal damage nor leaks to the periphery) rapidly decreased StAR and PBR but not cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme protein levels. Levels of the variant of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) that is restricted to Leydig cells, TnNOS, significantly increased in response to ISO, CRF, and EtOH over the time course of altered StAR/PBR concentrations. However, pretreatment of the rats with N(w)nitro-arginine methylester, which blocked ISO-induced increases in TnNOS, neither restored the T response to human chorionic gonadotropin nor prevented the decreases in StAR and PBR. These results provide evidence of concomitant changes in Leydig cell StAR and PBR levels in live rats. They also indicate that activation of a neural brain-testicular pathway rapidly decreases concentrations of these steroidogenic proteins while up-regulating testicular NO production. However, additional studies are necessary to elucidate the functional role played by this gas in our model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Herman
- The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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