AI Article Synopsis
- Spermatogenesis is the process in the testis that produces sperm cells, crucial for species reproduction, and depends on the support from Sertoli cells.
- The reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in Sertoli cells is essential for this process, but how this happens is not fully understood.
- Research shows that the RNA-binding protein PTBP1 regulates this cytoskeleton reorganization by influencing the splicing of proteins that control actin dynamics, specifically by affecting the inclusion of certain exons in the Tnik kinase gene, which is important for maintaining cellular structures that support sperm development.
Article Abstract
Spermatogenesis is a biological process within the testis that produces haploid spermatozoa for the continuity of species. Sertoli cells are somatic cells in the seminiferous epithelium that orchestrate spermatogenesis. Cyclic reorganization of the Sertoli cell actin cytoskeleton is vital for spermatogenesis, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. Here, we report that the RNA-binding protein PTBP1 controls Sertoli cell actin cytoskeleton reorganization by programming alternative splicing of actin cytoskeleton regulators. This splicing control enables ectoplasmic specializations, the actin-based adhesion junctions, to maintain the blood-testis barrier and support spermatid transport and transformation. Particularly, we show that PTBP1 promotes actin bundle formation by repressing the inclusion of exon 14 of Tnik, a kinase present at the ectoplasmic specialization. Our results thus reveal a novel mechanism wherein Sertoli cell actin cytoskeleton dynamics are controlled post-transcriptionally by utilizing functionally distinct isoforms of actin regulatory proteins, and PTBP1 is a critical regulatory factor in generating such isoforms.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11551747 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae862 | DOI Listing |
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