Abstract
Spermatogenesis is a continuous and organized process that occurs throughout the adult life of a male, by which spermatogonia proceed through mitosis, meiosis and complex cytological transformations resulting in the formation of spermatozoa. This process requires precise and highly ordered regulation of gene expression at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Recent advances in genome-wide analyses of the mammalian transcriptome have revealed that in addition to mRNAs, several types of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous small-interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs), PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), are extensively transcribed during testis development and spermatogenesis. These ncRNAs are expressed in a cell-specific and step-specific manner to participate in the control of germ cell differentiation during spermatogenesis. In this review, we first briefly address the basics of spermatogenesis and the synthesis of ncRNAs, and then we discuss the recent progress in understanding of the functions of miRNAs, endo-siRNAs, piRNAs and lncRNAs in the regulation of spermatogenesis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Spermatogenesis |
| Subtitle of host publication | Molecular Mechanisms, Regulation and Biological Perspectives |
| Publisher | Nova Science Publishers, Inc. |
| Pages | 31-70 |
| Number of pages | 40 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781634847261 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781634847155 |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Medicine