lncRNA 1700009J07Rik Impaired Male Fertility by Interfering with Sexual Behaviors in Mice

作者：Hongyu Wang, Xiaojun Liu, Shijue Dong, Yang Zhou, Jingyan Yu, Meng Zou, Mengqian Ding, Aiwen Kang, Nanxi Ji, Xuhui Zeng, Xiaoning Zhang · 发表于：International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/ijms26125801 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research

Long non-coding (lnc) RNAs exhibit tissue-specific expression characteristics and have been shown to be involved in the regulation of various biological processes. The testis is one of the organs with the most abundant lncRNAs. However, the functions of many testis-specific or -enriched lncRNAs in male fertility remain undisclosed. In this study, we screened lncRNA 1700009J07Rik (07Rik) to investigate its roles in spermatogenesis and male fertility using knockout (KO) mice. We found that 07Rik mainly acted as an intact lncRNA rather than a small protein, being highly expressed in various spermatogenic cells, which suggests its potential involvement in spermatogenesis. Unexpectedly, the deletion of 07Rik did not impact spermatogenesis or sperm functions. Intriguingly, two-thirds of the male KO were infertile, which was ascribed to the lack of sexual behaviors rather than abnormalities in spermatogenesis or sperm functions. Further results reveal that, compared with wild-type mice, free testosterone content in serum was significantly reduced in the KO infertile (KO-I) mice, whereas it was remarkably elevated in the testes. Correspondingly, Hsd3b2, a key gene that promotes testosterone synthesis, was dramatically upregulated. Cyp19a1 and Cyp11b1, which are responsible for testosterone metabolism, were downregulated in the testes. In addition, the expression of sex hormone-binding globulin was observably elevated in the testes of 07Rik KO-I mice, which might partially explain the...