System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Epublish 133 citations

PubMed: 32194870 DOI: 10.7150/thno.43189

Alginate oligosaccharides improve germ cell development and testicular microenvironment to rescue busulfan disrupted spermatogenesis.

Theranostics 10(7):3308-3324

Authors: Yong Zhao, Pengfei Zhang, Wei Ge, Yanni Feng, Lan Li, Zhongyi Sun, Hongfu Zhang, Wei Shen

Affiliations

  • College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, P. R. China. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, P. R. China.
  • College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, P. R. China.
  • College of Veterinary Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, P. R. China.
  • Center for Reproductive Medicine, Urology Department, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, P. R. China.
  • State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, P. R. China.

Abstract

: Busulfan is currently an indispensable anti-cancer drug, particularly for children, but the side effects on male reproduction are so serious that critical drug management is needed to minimize any negative impact. Meanwhile, alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) are natural products with many consequent advantages, that have attracted a great deal of pharmaceutical attention. In the current investigation, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on murine testes treated with busulfan and/or AOS to define the mitigating effects of AOS on spermatogenesis at the single cell level. : Testicular cells () were examined by single cell RNA sequencing analysis, histopathological analysis, immunofluorescence staining, and Western blotting. Testes samples () underwent RNA sequencing analysis. Blood and testicular metabolomes were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). : We found that AOS increased murine sperm concentration and motility, and rescued busulfan disrupted spermatogenesis through improving (i) the proportion of germ cells, (ii) gene expression important for spermatogenesis, and (iii) transcriptional factors . Furthermore, AOS promoted the expression of genes important for spermatogenesis Finally, our results showed that AOS improved blood and testis metabolomes as well as the gut microbiota to support the recovery of spermatogenesis. : AOS could be used to improve fertility in patients undergoing chemotherapy and to combat other factors that induce infertility in humans.

MeSH

Cells, Genes, Oligosaccharides, Alginates, Nanomedicine, Fertility, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Germ Cells, Busulfan, Spermatogenesis, Spermatozoa, Testis

Cited by