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Decreased expression of MRE11 and RAD50 in testes from humans with spermatogenic failure

  • Gamete Biology
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Abstract

Purpose

To assess testicular mRNA and protein expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 in human azoospermia patients.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with maturation arrest at the spermatocyte stage (MA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) were recruited through diagnostic testicular biopsy. Patients with normal spermatogenesis were studied as controls. In addition, knockdown of MRE11 and RAD50 was performed in GC-2spd(ts) cells to investigate their roles in cellular proliferation and apoptosis.

Results

mRNA and protein expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Knockdown of both MRE11 and RAD50 utilized transfection with small interfering RNAs.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated altered expression levels of MRE11 and RAD50 in human testes with MA and SCOS, and showed that these alterations might be associated with impaired spermatogenesis. These results offer valuable new perspectives into the molecular mechanisms of male infertility.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all of the members of our laboratory for their support and valuable suggestions.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81601336, 81571500, 81771652, and 81801475), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFC1004900), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China (No. LQ15H040005, LQ17H040001, LGD19H040001, and LY17H040006), and the Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. 2015KYB200).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Minhao Hu and Lejun Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 1 Xueshi Road, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang, China

    Minhao Hu, Lejun Li, Liya Wang, Fang Le, Hongping Li, Qijing Wang, Hangying Lou, Ning Wang & Fan Jin

  2. Department of Gynecology, Weifang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Weifang, 261000, China

    Shuyuan Liu

  3. Department of Gynecology, Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, 310007, China

    Yiyun Lou

  4. Women’s Reproductive Health Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou, 310006, China

    Fan Jin

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  1. Minhao Hu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fan Jin.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Medical Ethics Committee of Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hu, M., Li, L., Liu, S. et al. Decreased expression of MRE11 and RAD50 in testes from humans with spermatogenic failure. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 331–340 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-019-01686-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-019-01686-5

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