Small non-coding RNA profiles in sperms from depressive-like mice induced by chronic unpredictable mild stimulations

In this study, depressive-like mice induced by chronic unpredictable mild stimulation (CUMS) were used to investigate the impact of psychological stress on reproduction and alterations in sperm sncRNAs. The results showed that CUMS treatments for 4 weeks induced depressive behavior in male mice and significantly affected sperm quality. The results obtained from small RNA sequencing indicated that alterations occurred in the distribution and composition of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), encompassing PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), rRNA-derived small RNAs (rsRNA), and tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNA). Furthermore, the offspring of male mice with depressive-like behavior have a significant reduction in survival rate at 21 days after birth, and those that did survive displayed an increased susceptibility to depression. Overall design: The present study aims to investigate the alterations in sncRNAs in sperm from male depressive-like mice prepared by CUMS