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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Molecular and Cellular Reproduction
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1440914
This article is part of the Research Topic Methods for the Study of Sperm Motility and Function View all 5 articles

The single-cell atlas of the epididymis in mice reveals the changes in epididymis function before and after sexual maturity

Provisionally accepted
Jiaxin Zhang Jiaxin Zhang 1Ye Xie Ye Xie 1Xiaoyan Wang Xiaoyan Wang 2Yafei Kang Yafei Kang 1Chuxiong Wang Chuxiong Wang 1Qinying Xie Qinying Xie 1Xinyi Dong Xinyi Dong 1Yonghong Tian Yonghong Tian 3*Donghui Huang Donghui Huang 1,4*
  • 1 Institute of Reproduction Health Research, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 Reproductive Center, Qingdao Women and Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
  • 3 Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 4 Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen 518109, China, Shenzhen, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The epididymis is important for sperm transport, maturation, and storage. The head and tail of the epididymis of 5-week-old and 10-week-old C57 BL / 6J male mice were used for single-cell sequencing. single-cell transcriptome sequencing to map different cell populations in the epididymal epithelium, identifying 10 cell types including main, basal, and narrow/clear cells. Next, we performed cell subgroup analysis, functional enrichment analysis, and differentiation potential prediction on principal cells, clear cells, and basal cells. Our study indicates that the principal cells are significantly involved in sperm maturation, as well as in antiviral and anti-tumor immune responses. Clear cells are likely to play a crucial role in safeguarding sperm and maintaining epididymal pH levels. Basal cells are implicated in the regulation of inflammatory and stress responses. The composition and functions of the various cell types within the epididymis undergo significant changes before and after sexual maturity. Furthermore, pseudo-temporal analysis elucidates the protective and supportive roles of epididymal cells in sperm maturation during sexual maturation. This study offers a theoretical framework and forecasts for the investigation of epididymal sperm maturation and epididymal immunity.

    Keywords: Single-cell RNA sequencing (sc-RNA seq), Epididymis, Clear/Narrow cells, Basal cells, Principal cells

    Received: 14 Jun 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Xie, Wang, Kang, Wang, Xie, Dong, Tian and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yonghong Tian, Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
    Donghui Huang, Institute of Reproduction Health Research, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China

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