AI Article Synopsis
- - Ankyrin proteins, particularly ANKRD31, play a crucial role in connecting membrane proteins to the cytoskeleton and have been recently discovered to be involved in spermatogenesis and male germ cell development.
- - Researchers created a knockout mouse model lacking ANKRD31, which resulted in infertility and issues like oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia, characterized by low sperm count, immotility, and abnormal morphology.
- - The study also revealed that the absence of ANKRD31 disrupts the formation of the blood-epididymal barrier due to cell junction problems, highlighting its importance for maintaining sperm integrity and overall reproductive health.
Article Abstract
Ankyrin proteins (ANKRD) are key mediators linking membrane and sub-membranous cytoskeletal proteins. Recent findings have highlighted a new role of ANKRD31 during spermatogenesis, elucidating its involvement in meiotic recombination and male germ cell progression. Following testicular differentiation, spermatozoa (SPZ) enter into the epididymis, where they undergo several biochemical and enzymatic changes. The epididymal epithelium is characterized by cell-to-cell junctions that are able to form the blood-epididymal barrier (BEB). This intricate epithelial structure provides the optimal microenvironment needed for epididymal sperm maturation. To date, no notions have been reported regarding a putative role of ANKRD31 in correct BEB formation. In our work, we generated an knockout male mouse model ( ) and characterized its reproductive phenotype. mice were infertile and exhibited oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia (a low number of immotile SPZ with abnormal morphological features). In addition, a complete deregulation of BEB was found in , due to cell-to-cell junction anomalies. In order to suggest that BEB deregulation may depend on gene deletion, we showed the physical interaction among ANKRD31 and some epithelial junction proteins in wild-type (WT) epididymides. In conclusion, the current work shows a key role of ANKRD31 in the control of germ cell progression as well as sperm and epididymal integrity.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8607815 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.741975 | DOI Listing |
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