MicroRNA profiles and potential regulatory pattern during the early stage of spermatogenesis in mice

Spermatogenesis is a complicated and poorly understood process that relies on the precise regulation of the self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonia. In many organisms, microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in multiple developmental processes as critical regulators of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing. This study investigated the expression pattern of miRNAs in type B spermatogonia cells (BSc) and primary spermatocytes (PSc) of mice, using a high-throughput small RNA sequencing system. The results revealed that the expression levels of Let-7 family miRNAs were remarkably high in both cell types. Furthermore, the expression levels of miR-21, miR-140-3p, miR-103, miR-30a, miR-101b and miR-99b were decreased during the transformation from BSc to PSc. These miRNAs target vital genes that participate in apoptosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, junction assembly and cell cycle regulation. These results highlight the indispensable role of miRNAs in spermatogenesis.