title: Dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs in mouse testes and spermatozoa after exposure to cadmium.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that cadmium (Cd) exposure can cause male subfertility and even complete infertility in mammals. Long noncoding (lnc) RNAs are critical for spermatogenesis, and their dysregulation might lead to male infertility. However, whether they are involved in Cd-induced subfertility is unknown. Here we found that intraperitoneal exposure to Cd in mice led to male subfertility indicated by reductions in testicular sperm production and motility, and by abnormal morphology. Testicular and sperm RNAs were used to investigate lncRNA expression profiles by strand-specific RNA sequencing at the transcriptome level to help determine any RNA-related mechanisms in Cd-induced subfertility. The Cd-treated testes and spermatozoa exhibited aberrant expression profiles for lncRNAs and mRNAs. Of the lncRNAs, there were 139 with upregulated expression and 174 with downregulated expression in testes; in contrast, 685 were upregulated and 375 were downregulated in spermatozoa. For mRNA expression, 214 were upregulated and 226 were downregulated in testes; 272 were upregulated and 111 were downregulated in spermatozoa. Gene ontology and pathway analyses showed that the functions of differentially expressed lncRNA targets and mRNAs were closely linked with many processes involved in spermatogenesis. Additionally, many newly identified lncRNAs showed inducible expression, suggesting that they might be good candidate markers for Cd-induced male reproductive toxicity. This study provides a preliminary database for further exploring lncRNA-related mechnisms in male infertility induced by Cd.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Fengxin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Yunwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China.
authors.forename: Qingyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science and School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, PR China. Electronic address: zhangxiaoning@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaoning
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Cadmium; Long noncoding RNA; Male infertility; RNA sequencing; Spermatozoa