Identification of Hsf1 as a novel androgen receptor‐regulated gene in mouse Sertoli cells. Issue 6 (4th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Lihua; Wang, Yadong; Zhang, Qiang; Lai, Yongqing; Li, Cailing; Zhang, Qiaoxia; Huang, Weiren; Duan, Yonggang; Jiang, Zhimao; Li, Xianxin; Cai, Zhiming; Mou, Lisha; Gui, Yaoting
• Is Part Of: Molecular reproduction and development. Volume 81:Issue 6(2014:Jun.)
• Page Start: 514
• Page End: 523
• Publication Date: 2014-04-04
• Subjects: Reproduction -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Molecular genetics -- Periodicals; Embryology -- Periodicals; 571.8
• DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22318
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-452X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>SUMMARY</title> <sec id="mrd22318-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <p>Androgen signaling plays a crucial role in spermatogenesis, yet few downstream targets for this signaling pathway have been identified. In the current study, we found that the expression of heat‐shock transcription factor 1 (<italic>Hsf1</italic>) was increased in the testes of Sertoli cell‐selective androgen receptor knockout (S‐AR<sup><italic>−</italic>/y</sup>) mice compared with wild‐type mice by quantitative real‐time PCR, and the expression of HSF1 in the S‐AR<sup>−/<italic>y</italic></sup> Sertoli cells was significantly increased, based on immunofluorescence analysis. In vitro cell‐culture studies showed that testosterone repressed the expression of <italic>Hsf1</italic> in TM4 cells, a mouse Sertoli cell line. Moreover, a luciferase assay, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that testosterone repressed <italic>Hsf1</italic> expression by facilitating the binding of androgen receptor to the <italic>Hsf1</italic> promoter. Our experiments also demonstrated that testosterone‐mediated inhibition of <italic>Hsf1</italic> transcription down‐regulated the expression of heat‐shock proteins HSP105 and HSP60. Taken together, these results reveal that <italic>Hsf1</italic> is a novel target of androgen receptor in mouse Sertoli cells, and testosterone and its receptor regulate the process of spermatogenesis partially by inhibiting <italic>Hsf1</italic> expression. <italic>Mol. Reprod. Dev. 81: 514–523, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc</italic>.</p> </sec> </abstract>