Downregulation of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein activates mitogen-activated protein kinases and impairs spermatogenic function in mouse testes

作者：Xia Zhi Ping; Zheng Xin Min^*; Zheng Hang; Liu Xiao Jun; Liu Gui Yong; Wang Xing Huan

来源：Asian Journal of Andrology, 2012, 14(6): 884-889.

DOI：10.1038/aja.2012.71

• cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP)
• mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)
• siRNA in vivo
• spermatogenesis
• heat stress
• male infertility

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) is an RNA-binding protein that is expressed in normal testes and downregulated after heat stress caused by cryptorchidism, varicocele or environmental temperatures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the functions of CIRP in the testes. We employed RNAi technique to knock down the expression of CIRP in the testes, and performed haematoxylin and eosin staining to evaluate morphological changes following knockdown. Germ cell apoptosis was examined by terminal deoxynucleotidal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways were investigated by Western blotting to determine the possible mechanism of apoptosis. We found that using siRNA is a feasible and reliable method for knocking down gene expression in the testes. Compared to controls, the mean seminiferous tubule diameter (MSTD) and the thickness of the germ cell layers decreased following siRNA treatment, whereas the percentage of apoptotic seminiferous tubules increased. The p44/p42, p38 and SAPK/JNK MAPK pathways were activated after downregulation of CIRP. In conclusion, we discovered that downregulation of CIRP resulted in increased germ cell apoptosis, possibly via the activation of the p44/p42, p38 and SAPK/JNK MAPK pathways. Asian Journal of Andrology (2012) 14, 884-889; doi: 10.1038/aja.2012.71; published online 24 September 2012

• 出版日期2012-11
• 单位武汉大学