2. Academic Validation
  3. Knockdown of disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis 2 disrupts cytoskeletal organization and phagocytosis in rat Sertoli cells

Knockdown of disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis 2 disrupts cytoskeletal organization and phagocytosis in rat Sertoli cells

  • Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2023 Mar 1;563:111867. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111867.
Junjie Xu 1,  Mengmeng Sang 2,  Jinmei Cheng 2,  Chunhai Luo 3,  Jie Shi 2,  Fei Sun 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
  • 2 Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
  • 3 Department of Urology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310016, China.
  • 4 Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China. Electronic address: sunfei@ntu.edu.cn.
PMID: 36681175 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111867
Abstract

Disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis 2 (DAAM2) regulates actin polymerization and cell motility. In this study, we investigated the role of DAAM2 in the Cytoskeleton and phagocytosis of rat Sertoli cells in vitro and in vivo through siRNA transfection and intratesticular injection. We found that knockdown of DAAM2 significantly attenuated cytoskeletal and tight junction marker expression and reduced the integrity of the Sertoli cell monolayer. In rats, loss of DAAM2 induced disarrangement and deformation of sperms and promoted accumulation of apoptotic sperms in the testis, accompanied by morphological abnormalities in the blood-testis barrier. DAAM2 silencing also reduced the ability of Sertoli cells to engulf apoptotic spermatogenic cells and green fluorescence-labeled beads. RNA Sequencing and bioinformatics analysis revealed that phagocytosis and cytoskeleton-related genes and pathways were significantly associated with DAAM2. Our study suggests that DAAM2 may be involved in spermatogenesis possibly by regulating Cytoskeleton organization and phagocytosis of Sertoli cells.

Keywords

Apoptosis; DAAM2; Phagocytosis; Sertoli cells; Spermatogenesis; Testis.

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