Exposure to elevated Temperature affects the Expression of Piwi-interacting RNAs and Associated Transcripts in Mouse Testes [small RNA-seq]

Exposure to heat waves could result in adverse effects on human health, especially in male testicles. Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) is a novel type of small non-coding RNA, which can notably impact mRNA turnover and preserve germline maintenance in germline cells. In this study, a mouse testicular heat stress model was constructed and the testes were removed for piRNA-sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis was used to discover the differential expressed piRNAs, piRNA clusters, and enriched pathways. Twelve C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups:control groups and heat stress groups. The scrota of the control groups were put into a 36 °C water bath for 15 minutes, and the testicular heat stress groups utilized a 43 °C water bath instead for the same time. Small RNA sequencing was performed in the testicular tissues of control and testicular heat stress groups after 24 hours.