lncRNA expression profiles in spermatocyte cell line (GC2) after exposure to triptolide and triptonide

Triptolide or triptonide, major bioactive components isolated from the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. (TWHF), have been shown to exert various pharmacological effects on systemic autoimmune disease. However, the severe toxicity, especially reproduction toxicity, of triptolide or triptonide prevents wide clinical use for those people with fertility needs. Long noncoding (lnc) RNAs are critical for spermatogenesis, and their dysregulation might lead to male infertility. However, whether they are involved in triptolide or triptonide -induced reproduction toxicity is unknown. Here we found that exposure of spermatocyte cell line (GC2) to triptolide or triptonide led to reduction in cell viability and induced cell apoptosis and autophagy. Then the total RNAs of triptolide or triptonide -treated GC2 cells were used to investigate lncRNA expression profiles by strand-specific RNA sequencing at the transcriptome level to help determine any RNA-related mechanisms in triptolide or triptonide-induced toxicity. Gene ontology and pathway analyses showed that the functions of differentially expressed lncRNA targets and mRNAs were closely linked with many processes involved in spermatogenesis. LncRNA profiles of testis were generated by stranded-specific RNA-seq, using Illumina HiSeq™ X Ten platform with PE150.