The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome
In what has become a well-established paradigm, paternal exposure to a range of environmental stressors is known to elicit distinct changes to the sperm small noncoding RNA (sncRNA) profile; modifications that can have significant post-fertilization consequences. Despite this knowledge, there remain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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World Scientific Publishing
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Fertility & Reproduction |
| Online Access: | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2661318222740267 |
| _version_ | 1798023356716417024 |
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| author | Brett NIXON |
| author_facet | Brett NIXON |
| author_sort | Brett NIXON |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In what has become a well-established paradigm, paternal exposure to a range of environmental stressors is known to elicit distinct changes to the sperm small noncoding RNA (sncRNA) profile; modifications that can have significant post-fertilization consequences. Despite this knowledge, there remains limited mechanistic understanding of how paternal exposures modify the sperm sncRNA landscape. To address this question, our laboratory has exploited a tractable exposure model in which male mice were subjected to acute administration of the reproductive toxicant, acrylamide; a challenge that elicited robust changes to their sperm sncRNA profile. Further, we traced the differential accumulation of acrylamide-responsive sncRNAs to coincide with sperm transit of the proximal (caput) segment of the epididymis, wherein acrylamide exposure altered the expression of several transcription factors implicated in the expression of acrylamide-sensitive sncRNAs. We have also identified extracellular vesicles (epididymosomes) secreted from the caput epididymal epithelium in relaying altered sncRNA profiles to maturing spermatozoa, the implications of which manifest in the form of dysregulated gene expression during early embryonic development following fertilization by acrylamide-exposed sperm. Overall, these data provide mechanistic links to account for how environmental insults can alter the sperm epigenome and compromise the transcriptomic profile of early embryos. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:45:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb2ed4f1617a473b9e88bb4deb6390b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2661-3182 2661-3174 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:45:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | World Scientific Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fertility & Reproduction |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb2ed4f1617a473b9e88bb4deb6390b02022-12-22T04:11:24ZengWorld Scientific PublishingFertility & Reproduction2661-31822661-31742022-09-010403n0411411410.1142/S2661318222740267The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm EpigenomeBrett NIXON0The University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science and the Hunter Medical Research Institute Program in Reproductive Health and Infertility, AustraliaIn what has become a well-established paradigm, paternal exposure to a range of environmental stressors is known to elicit distinct changes to the sperm small noncoding RNA (sncRNA) profile; modifications that can have significant post-fertilization consequences. Despite this knowledge, there remains limited mechanistic understanding of how paternal exposures modify the sperm sncRNA landscape. To address this question, our laboratory has exploited a tractable exposure model in which male mice were subjected to acute administration of the reproductive toxicant, acrylamide; a challenge that elicited robust changes to their sperm sncRNA profile. Further, we traced the differential accumulation of acrylamide-responsive sncRNAs to coincide with sperm transit of the proximal (caput) segment of the epididymis, wherein acrylamide exposure altered the expression of several transcription factors implicated in the expression of acrylamide-sensitive sncRNAs. We have also identified extracellular vesicles (epididymosomes) secreted from the caput epididymal epithelium in relaying altered sncRNA profiles to maturing spermatozoa, the implications of which manifest in the form of dysregulated gene expression during early embryonic development following fertilization by acrylamide-exposed sperm. Overall, these data provide mechanistic links to account for how environmental insults can alter the sperm epigenome and compromise the transcriptomic profile of early embryos.https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2661318222740267 |
| spellingShingle | Brett NIXON The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome Fertility & Reproduction |
| title | The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome |
| title_full | The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome |
| title_fullStr | The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome |
| title_short | The Role of the Epididymis in Linking the Legacy of Paternal Exposures to Alteration of the Sperm Epigenome |
| title_sort | role of the epididymis in linking the legacy of paternal exposures to alteration of the sperm epigenome |
| url | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2661318222740267 |
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