Single-cell transcriptome profiling reveals several LncRNAs differentially expressed in idiopathic germ cell aplasia

Abstract

Mechanisms underlying severe male infertility are still largely elusive. However, recently, a single-cell transcription study by our group identified several differentially expressed coding genes in all the somatic cell types in testes of patients with idiopathic germ cell aplasia (iGCA). Here, we leverage this work by extending the analysis also to the non-coding portion of the genome. As a result, we found that 43 LncRNAs were differentially expressed in the somatic cells of these patients. Interestingly, a significant portion of the overexpressed LncRNAs was found to be a target of TAF9B, a transcription factor known to be involved in germ cell survival. Moreover, several overexpressed LncRNAs were also found to be activated in a mouse model of Sertoli cells treated with bisphenol A, a widespread environmental contaminant, long suspected to impair male fertility. Finally, a literature search for MEG3, a maternally imprinted LncRNA overexpressed as well in our patients, found it to be involved, among other things, in obesity and inflammation, known comorbidities of iGCA, ultimately suggesting that our findings deepen the understanding of the molecular insights coupled not only to the pathogenesis, but also to the clinical course of this class of patients.