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Melatonin Increases Proliferation and Decreases Apoptosis of GC-1 spg Cells by Upregulating the Expression of circTec

  • Reproductive Biology: Original Article
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Abstract

Melatonin has been shown to be beneficial for the motility of human sperm, although its mechanism remains to be uncovered. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to regulate cellular function in many diseases. However, there has been no relevant research on the effect of melatonin on sperm circRNAs. In this study, we aimed to explore the changes in circRNAs after melatonin treatment of GC-1 spg cells and identify key functional circRNAs. The results showed that melatonin enhanced the proliferation and reduced the apoptosis of GC-1 spg cells. A total of 1423 circRNAs were found to be significantly differentially expressed between groups with and without melatonin treatment. Of these circRNAs, 702 were upregulated and 721 were downregulated. circTec was one of the upregulated circRNAs. Suppressing the expression of circTec significantly reduced cell proliferation and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway activation but promoted melatonin-treated GC-1 spg cell apoptosis. In conclusion, melatonin increased the expression of circTec to exert its physiological effects on GC-1 spg cells, possibly by activating the mTOR signaling pathway. These results enhance our understanding of the biological function of circTec and its regulation by melatonin in spermatogenesis and infertility.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Funding

This work was supported by the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation Project (grant number 2020GXNSFAA159099); Nanning Jiangnan District Planning Project (grant number 202001206); Key R&D Plan of Science Research and Technology in Liangqing District of Nanning city (grant number 202009); Scientific Research and Technology Development Plan Project of Nanning (grant number 20213024); and Science and Technology Planning Project of Nanning Qingxiu District (grant number 2020025).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Medical Center, the Second Nanning People’s Hospital, No. 13 Dancun Road, Nanning, 530031, China

    Changlong Xu, Hua Yang, Chunyuan Li & Zhuo Wu

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wuxiang Hospital of Nanning Second People’s Hospital, Nanning, 530031, China

    Yafeng Ma

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  1. Changlong Xu
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  2. Hua Yang
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Contributions

Changlong Xu conceived and designed the experiments as well as drafted and substantively revised the manuscript; Hua Yang, Chunyuan Li, and Zhuo Wu performed the experiments and analyzed and interpreted the data; Yafeng Ma contributed to reinterpret the data and organize the figures.

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Correspondence to Changlong Xu.

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Xu, C., Yang, H., Li, C. et al. Melatonin Increases Proliferation and Decreases Apoptosis of GC-1 spg Cells by Upregulating the Expression of circTec. Reprod. Sci. 30, 135–144 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-00937-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-00937-8

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