精子发生过程中调控性非编码RNAs的功能

摘要

Global rise in male infertility as a result of falling sperm count and quality has been pointed out by many investigations. Therefore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanism of spermatogenesis and its regulation. Spermatogenesis is characterized by three phases: mitosis, meiosis and spermiogenesiss, which are strictly regulated by phase-speciifc gene expression that is controlled by myriads of regulatory non-coding RNAs. Rapid advancement in genome mining technologies has identiifed role of regulatory non-coding RNAs including microRNA(miRNA), small-interfering RNA(siRNA), PIWI-interacting RNA(piRNA) and long non-coding RNA(lncRNA) as controllers of gene expression at transcriptional as well as post-transcriptional level in different biological context and disease processes. Here, we discuss the recent advances in our understanding about the involvement of these transcripts in spermatogenesis. In addition, we review here the relationship between their abnormal experssion and associated diseases.%精子数量下降和质量减低是全球范围内男性不育疾病增加的主要原因。因此理解精子发生及其调控的分子机制是非常必要的。精子发生主要分为有丝分裂、减数分裂和精子形成三个阶段，这些过程被阶段特异性的基因表达严格调控，而众多的调控性非编码RNAs则是基因表达的重要调控因子。飞速发展的基因组检测技术已经证实，调控性非编码RNAs在不同生物演化和疾病进程中基因表达的转录和转录后水平上发挥重要的调控作用，其包括微小RNA(miRNA)、小干扰RNA（siRNA）、与PIWI蛋白相互作用的RNAs（piRNA）和长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）。讨论这些转录本在精子发生中的功能作用，并综述其异常表达与相关疾病的关系。