title: MicroRNA-29a inhibited epididymal epithelial cell proliferation by targeting nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP).
abstract: Cell proliferation often decreases gradually during postnatal development of some organs. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Epididymis, playing important roles in sperm maturation, is a typical organ of this type, which displays a decreased proliferation during postnatal development and even ceased at the adult stage. Here, epididymis was employed as a model to explore the underlying mechanisms. We profiled the microRNA and mRNA expression of newborn (1 day) and adult (90 day) rat epididymis by microarray analysis, and found that the level of miR-29a was dramatically up-regulated during postnatal development of rat epididymis. Subsequent investigations demonstrated that overexpression of miR-29a inhibited the proliferation of epididymal epithelial cells in vitro. The nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP), a novel target of miR-29a, was significantly down-regulated during postnatal development of rat epididymis. Further analysis showed that silence of NASP mimicked the anti-proliferation effect of miR-29a, whereas overexpression of this protein attenuated the effect of miR-29a. As in rat epididymis, miR-29a was up-regulated and Nasp was down-regulated during postnatal development of mouse epididymis, heart, liver, and lung. Moreover, miR-29a can also inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells by targeting Nasp. Thus, an increase of miR-29a, and hence decrease of Nasp, may contribute to inhibit cell proliferation during postnatal organ development.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031,; Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Wubin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031,; Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Shengsong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Minjie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210061, and.
authors.forename: Xingxu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031,; Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Shuanggang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031.
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031,; Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: ylzhang@sibs.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yonglian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004822:Epididymis / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity; D051381:Rats; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C547014:MIRN29 microRNA, mouse; C526366:MIRN29 microRNA, rat; C532045:MIRN29a microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; C489390:NASP protein, human; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C067535:Nasp protein, mouse