The RNA content of human sperm reflects prior events in spermatogenesis and potential post-fertilization effects
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Celia Corral-Vazquez; Zaida Sarrate; Francesca Vidal; Joan Blanco; C Daub; Ester Anton; R Aiese Cigliano; R Rivera-Egea; Nicolás Garrido
- Source
- MOLECULAR HUMAN REPRODUCTION
r-IIS La Fe. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe
instname
- Subject
- 0301 basic medicine
Adult
Male
Embryology
DNA, Complementary
Population
Embryonic Development
RNA-Seq
Biology
Transcriptome
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Reference Values
RNA, RNA-seq, Sperm, fertility, lncRNA
Genetics
Humans
RNA, Messenger
education
Spermatogenesis
Molecular Biology
Transcription factor
Gene Library
education.field_of_study
030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine
Gene Expression Profiling
Obstetrics and Gynecology
RNA
Cell Biology
Sperm
Spermatozoa
Cell biology
030104 developmental biology
Gene Ontology
Reproductive Medicine
Fertilization
Human genome
RNA, Long Noncoding
Sequence Alignment
Developmental Biology
- Language
- ISSN
- 1460-2407
1360-9947
Transcriptome analyses using high-throughput methodologies allow a deeper understanding of biological functions in different cell types/tissues. The present study provides an RNA-seq profiling of human sperm mRNAs and lncRNAs (messenger and long non-coding RNAs) in a well-characterized population of fertile individuals. Sperm RNA was extracted from twelve ejaculate samples under strict quality controls. Poly(A)-transcripts were sequenced and aligned to the human genome. mRNAs and lncRNAs were classified according to their mean expression values (FPKM: Fragments Per Kilobase of transcript per Million mapped reads) and integrity. Gene Ontology analysis of the Expressed and Highly Expressed mRNAs showed an involvement in diverse reproduction processes, while the Ubiquitously Expressed and Highly Stable mRNAs were mainly involved in spermatogenesis. Transcription factor enrichment analyses revealed that the Highly Expressed and Ubiquitously Expressed sperm mRNAs were primarily regulated by zinc-fingers and spermatogenesis-related proteins. Regarding the Expressed lncRNAs, only one-third of their potential targets corresponded to Expressed mRNAs and were enriched in cell-cycle regulation processes. The remaining two-thirds were absent in sperm and were enriched in embryogenesis-related processes. A significant amount of post-testicular sperm mRNAs and lncRNAs was also detected. Even though our study is solely directed to the poly-A fraction of sperm transcripts, results indicate that both sperm mRNAs and lncRNAs constitute a footprint of previous spermatogenesis events and are configured to affect the first stages of embryo development.