Retinoic Acid Receptors Control Spermatogonia Cell-Fate and Induce Expression of the SALL4A Transcription Factor.
Fiche publication
Date publication
octobre 2015
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr DAVIDSON Irwin, Dr TELETIN Marius
Tous les auteurs :
Gely-Pernot A, Raverdeau M, Teletin M, Vernet N, Feret B, Klopfenstein M, Dennefeld C, Davidson I, Benoit G, Mark M, Ghyselinck NB
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is instrumental to male germ cell differentiation, but its mechanism of action remains elusive. To address this question, we have analyzed the phenotypes of mice lacking, in spermatogonia, all rexinoid receptors (RXRA, RXRB and RXRG) or all ATRA receptors (RARA, RARB and RARG). We demonstrate that the combined ablation of RXRA and RXRB in spermatogonia recapitulates the set of defects observed both upon ablation of RAR in spermatogonia. We also show that ATRA activates RAR and RXR bound to a conserved regulatory region to increase expression of the SALL4A transcription factor in spermatogonia. Our results reveal that this major pluripotency gene is a target of ATRA signaling and that RAR/RXR heterodimers are the functional units driving its expression in spermatogonia. They add to the mechanisms through which ATRA promote expression of the KIT tyrosine kinase receptor to trigger a critical step in spermatogonia differentiation. Importantly, they indicate also that meiosis eventually occurs in the absence of a RAR/RXR pathway within germ cells and suggest that instructing this process is either ATRA-independent or requires an ATRA signal originating from Sertoli cells.
Référence
PLoS Genet. 2015 Oct 1;11(10):e1005501