Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 6 Involved in Germ Cell Viability during Spermatogenesis and Down-Regulated by the Androgen Receptor

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Manling Luo²  Yuchi Li²  Huan Guo¹  Shouren Lin¹  Jianbo Chen¹  Qian Ma¹  Yanli Gu¹  Zhimao Jiang¹  Yaoting Gui¹ 

[1] Guangdong and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Male Reproductive Medicine and Genetics, Institute of Urology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen PKU-HKUST Medical Center, Shenzhen 518036, China;Department of Physiology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, China;

关键词: PRMT6;    androgen receptor;    testes;    migration;    apoptosis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms161226186

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) are of great importance to spermatogenesis and male fertility. AR knockout (ARKO) mice display a complete insensitivity to androgens and male infertility; however, the exact molecular mechanism for this effect remains unclear. In this study, we found that the expression levels of Prmt6 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in the testes of ARKO mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. PRMT6 was principally localized to the nucleus of spermatogonia and spermatocytes by immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, luciferase assay data showed that AR together with testosterone treatment suppressed Prmt6 transcription via binding to the androgen-responsive element (ARE) of the Prmt6 promoter. Moreover, knockdown of Prmt6 suppressed germ cells migration and promoted apoptosis. In addition, both of these cellular activities could not be enhanced by testosterone treatment. Taken together, these data indicate that PRMT6, which was down-regulated by AR and influenced cell migration and apoptosis of germ cells, could play a potentially important role in spermatogenesis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.