机构：[1]State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine,Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.[2]Department of Pathology, and Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.[3]Institute of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Henan 450052, China.[4]Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.江苏省人民医院[5]Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.江苏省人民医院[6]Center for Molecular Carcinogenesis, Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.[7]Biomedical Engineer Research Center, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 65000, China.
Although recent studies have shed insights on some of the potential causes of male infertility, new underlining molecular mechanisms still remain to be elucidated. Makorin-2 (Mkrn2) is an evolutionarily conserved gene whose biological functions are not fully known. We developed an Mrkn2 knockout mouse model to study the role of this gene, and found that deletion of Mkrn2 in mice led to male infertility. Mkrn2 knockout mice produced abnormal sperms characterized by low number, poor motility, and aberrant morphology. Disruption of Mkrn2 also caused failure of sperm release (spermiation failure) and misarrangement of ectoplasmic specialization (ES) in testes, thus impairing spermiogenesis and spermiation. To understand the molecular mechanism, we found that expression of Odf2, a vital protein in spermatogenesis, was significantly decreased. In addition, we found that expression levels of Odf2 were decreased in Mkrn2 knockout mice. We also found that MKRN2 was prominently expressed in the sperm of normal men, but was significantly reduced in infertile men. This result indicates that our finding is clinically relevant. The results of our study provided insights into a new mechanism of male infertility caused by the MKRN2 downregulation.
基金：
National Key Basic Research Program of China
(2011CB944304, 2011CB504003), and by the Chinese Natural Science Funds (81270736, 81222006, 81302182,
81472944, 81320108019), and by the National Institutes of Health grant R01ES020868 and R01CA193511.
第一作者机构：[1]State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine,Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.[2]Department of Pathology, and Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
共同第一作者：
通讯作者：
通讯机构：[1]State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine,Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.[2]Department of Pathology, and Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.[6]Center for Molecular Carcinogenesis, Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
推荐引用方式(GB/T 7714)：
Qian Xu,Wang Lin,Zheng Bo,et al.Deficiency of Mkrn2 causes abnormal spermiogenesis and spermiation, and impairs male fertility[J].SCIENTIFIC REPORTS.2016,6:-.doi:10.1038/srep39318.
APA：
Qian Xu,Wang Lin,Zheng Bo,Shi Zhu-Mei,Ge Xin...&Jiang Bing-Hua.(2016).Deficiency of Mkrn2 causes abnormal spermiogenesis and spermiation, and impairs male fertility.SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,6,
MLA：
Qian Xu,et al."Deficiency of Mkrn2 causes abnormal spermiogenesis and spermiation, and impairs male fertility".SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 6.(2016):-
