MicroRNA-184 downregulates nuclear receptor corepressor 2 in mouse spermatogenesis.
BACKGROUND
There have been increasing attentions on the role of small RNAs, especially microRNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation during spermatogenesis. MicroRNA-184 (miR-184) has been shown to be mainly expressed in the testis and brain, and that its expression levels are by far the highest in the testis. However, the role of miR-184 in mammalian spermatogenesis remains unclear.


RESULTS
In this study, we demonstrated that miR-184 levels were increased during mouse postnatal testis development. Specifically, miR-184 expression was restricted to the germ cells from spermatogonia to round spermatids. Overexpression of miR-184 promoted the proliferation of a germ cell line, GC-1spg. Moreover, miR-184 downregulated nuclear receptor corepressor 2 (Ncor2) by targeting its 3' untranslated region through inhibiting NCOR2 protein translation.


CONCLUSIONS
MiR-184 may be involved in the post-transcription regulation of mRNAs such as Ncor2 in mammalian spermatogenesis.
Department of Histology & Embryology, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
Jingwen
J
Wu
Jianqiang
J
Bao
Li
L
Wang
Yanqin
Y
Hu
Chen
C
Xu
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D056985:Nuclear Receptor Co-Repressor 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; C552233:MIRN184 microRNA, mouse; D035683:MicroRNAs; C539131:Ncor2 protein, mouse; D056985:Nuclear Receptor Co-Repressor 2