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New insights to the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway (UPP) mechanism during spermatogenesis

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Abstract

Spermatogenesis is a complicated and highly ordered process which begins with the differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells and ends with the formation of mature sperm. After meiosis, several morphological changes occur during spermatogenesis. During spermatogenesis, many proteins and organelles are degraded, and the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway (UPP) plays a key role in the process which facilitates the formation of condensed sperm. UPP contains various indispensable components: ubiquitin, ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, ubiquitin ligase enzyme E3 and proteasomes. At some key stages of spermatogenesis, such as meiosis, acrosome biogenesis, and spermatozoa maturation, the ubiquitin-related components (including deubiquitination enzymes) exert positive and active functions. Generally speaking, deficient UPP will block spermatogenesis which may induce infertility at various degrees. Although ubiquitination during spermatogenesis has been widely investigated, further detailed aspects such as the mechanism of ubiquitination during the formation of midpiece and acrosome morphogenesis still remains unknown. The present review will overview current progress on ubiquitination during spermatogenesis, and will provide some suggestions for future studies on the functions of UPP components during spermatogenesis.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all members of the Sperm Laboratory at Zhejiang University for their helpful discussion. This project was supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41276151), National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant Number: No. 2012CB967902), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31072198).

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  1. The Sperm Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yu Hang Tang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Cong-Cong Hou & Wan-Xi Yang

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  1. Cong-Cong Hou
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Correspondence to Wan-Xi Yang.

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Hou, CC., Yang, WX. New insights to the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway (UPP) mechanism during spermatogenesis. Mol Biol Rep 40, 3213–3230 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-2397-y

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