TorsinA Is Functionally Associated with Spermatogenesis

TorsinA is a member of the AAA + superfamily of adenosine triphosphatases. These AAA + proteins have numerous biological functions, including vesicle fusion, cytoskeleton dynamics, intracellular trafficking, protein folding, and degradation as well as organelle biogenesis. Of particular interest is torsinA, which is mainly located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and nuclear envelope (NE). Interestingly, mutations in the TOR1A gene (the gene encoding torsinA) are associated with DYT1 dystonia and with the preferential localization of mutated torsinA at the NE, where it is associated with lamina-associated polypeptide 1. A bioinformatics study of the torsinA interactome revealed reproductive processes to be highly relevant, as proteins in this class were found to interact with the former. Interestingly, the torsin protein family had never been previously described to be associated with the mammalian spermatogenic process. Histological staining of torsinA in human testis tissue revealed a granular cytoplasmic localization in mid- and late spermatocytes. We further sought to understand this newly discovered expression of torsinA in the meiotic phase of human spermatogenesis by studying its specific subcellular distribution. TorsinA is not present in the ER as commonly described. The proposal that torsinA might relocate to the pro-acrosomal vesicles in the Golgi apparatus is discussed.