title: Autophagy is required for ectoplasmic specialization assembly in sertoli cells.
abstract: The ectoplasmic specialization (ES) is essential for Sertoli-germ cell communication to support all phases of germ cell development and maturity. Its formation and remodeling requires rapid reorganization of the cytoskeleton. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of ES assembly is still largely unknown. Here, we show that Sertoli cell-specific disruption of autophagy influenced male mouse fertility due to the resulting disorganized seminiferous tubules and spermatozoa with malformed heads. In autophagy-deficient mouse testes, cytoskeleton structures were disordered and ES assembly was disrupted. The disorganization of the cytoskeleton structures might be caused by the accumulation of a negative cytoskeleton organization regulator, PDLIM1, and these defects could be partially rescued by Pdlim1 knockdown in autophagy-deficient Sertoli cells. Altogether, our works reveal that the degradation of PDLIM1 by autophagy in Sertoli cells is important for the proper assembly of the ES, and these findings define a novel role for autophagy in Sertoli cell-germ cell communication.
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Hongna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Weixiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Haichao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: c State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology and National Center for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Fengyi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Zhiliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: c State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology and National Center for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.|b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology
keywords: Atg5; Atg7; PDLIM1; autophagy; cytoskeleton organization; ectoplasmic specialization