RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Single-cell atlas of human developing and azoospermia patients’ testicles reveals the roadmap and defects in somatic microenvironment
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.05.07.082024
DO 10.1101/2020.05.07.082024
A1 LiangYu Zhao
A1 ChenCheng Yao
A1 XiaoYu Xing
A1 Tao Jing
A1 Peng Li
A1 ZiJue Zhu
A1 Chao Yang
A1 Jing Zhai
A1 RuHui Tian
A1 HuiXing Chen
A1 JiaQiang Luo
A1 NaChuan Liu
A1 ZhiWen Deng
A1 XiaoHan Lin
A1 Na Li
A1 Jing Fang
A1 Jie Sun
A1 ChenChen Wang
A1 Zhi Zhou
A1 Zheng Li
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/05/08/2020.05.07.082024.abstract
AB Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) affects 1% of men. However, the unknowns of NOA pathogenesis and even normal spermatogenic microenvironment establishment severely limit the clinical efficacy of NOA treatment. We profiled > 80,000 human testicular single-cell transcriptomes from 10 healthy donors spanning the range from infant to adult and 7 NOA patients. Sertoli cells, which form the scaffold in the testicular microenvironment, exhibited the most obvious damages in NOA patients. We identified the roadmap of Sertoli cell maturation. Notably, Sertoli cells of patients with congenital causes (Klinefelter syndrome and Y chromosome microdeletions) are mature but with abnormal immune response, while the cells in idiopathic NOA (iNOA) are basically physiologically immature. Furthermore, inhibition of Wnt signaling promotes the maturation of Sertoli cells from iNOA patients, allowing these cells to regain their ability to support germ cell survival. We provide a novel perspective on the development of diagnostic methods and therapeutic targets for NOA.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.