The profile of long non-coding RNAs in mouse testis and sperm after exposure to cadmium

Increasing evidences have shown that cadmium could caused male infertility. However, the exhaustive mechanisms have not been elucidated in mammals. Here, the mice testes and sperm RNA were used to investigate lncRNA expression profiles by stranded-specific RNA-seq on the transcriptome levels after exposure to cadmium. More LncRNA expression have been changed than mRNA genes by cadmium. Furthermore, many novel LncRNA were inducible expression, suggesting that LncRNA might be a good candidate for indicating the reproductive toxicity of cadmium. The present study provides a preliminary database for further exploring the mechanisms of reproductive toxicity caused by cadmium in mammalians. Overall design: LncRNA profiles of mice (3-5 months) were generated by stranded-specific RNA-seq, using Illumina HiSeqTM 4000 with PE100.