are contributed equally to the completion of this work.Abbreviations: +TIP, microtubule plus (+)-end tracking protein; AJ, adherens junction; aPKC, atypical protein kinase C; Arp3, actin-related protein 3; BM, basement membrane; BTB, blood-testis barrier; Crb3, Crumbs homolog-3; DAPI, 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; Dia1, Diaphanous-related formin-1; Dlg1, Discs large 1; Dvl3, Disheveled 3; EB1, end-binding protein 1; Eps8, epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8; ES, ectoplasmic specialization; Fzd3, Frizzled 3; F12/DMEM, Ham's F12 nutrient mixture/Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (1:1, vol/vol); GAPDH, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GJ, gap junction; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin staining; IF, immunofluorescence microscopy; IgG, immunoglobulin; IP, immunoprecipitation; MAP1a, microtubule-associated protein 1a; MARK, microtubule affinity-regulatory kinase 4; MT, microtubule; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; NC1 domain, non-collagenous domain 1; Pals1, protein associated with Lin-7 1; PatJ, Pals1-associated tight junction protein; Par6, partitioning-defective (Par) protein 6; rpS6, ribosomal protein S6; TJ, tight junction; ZO-1, zonula occludens-1.
AbstractDuring the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis, different sets of cellular events take place across the seminiferous epithelium in the testis. For instance, remodeling of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) that facilitates the transport of preleptotene spermatocytes across the immunological barrier and the release of sperms at spermiation take place at the opposite ends of the epithelium simultaneously at stage VIII of the epithelial cycle. These cellular events are tightly coordinated via locally produced regulatory biomolecules. Studies have shown that collagen α3 (IV) chains, a major constituent component of the basement membrane, release the non-collagenous (NC) 1 domain, a 28-kDa peptide, designated NC1-peptide, from the C-terminal region, via the action of MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9). NC1-peptide was found to be capable of inducing BTB remodeling and spermatid release across the epithelium. As such, the NC1-peptide is an endogenously produced biologically active peptide which coordinates these cellular events across the epithelium in stage VIII tubules. Herein, we used an animal model, wherein NC1-peptide cloned into the pCI-neo mammalian expression vector was overexpressed in the testis, to better understanding the molecular mechanism by which NC1-peptide regulated spermatogenic function. It was shown that NC1-peptide induced considerable downregulation on a number of cell polarity and planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins, and studies have shown these polarity and PCP proteins modulate spermatid polarity and adhesion via their effects on microtubule (MT) and F-actin cytoskeletal organization across the epithelium. More important, NC1-peptide exerted its effects by downregulating the expression of microtubule (MT) plus-end tracking protein (+TIP) called EB1 (end-binding protein 1). We cloned the full-length EB1 cDNA for its ov...