Anatomical transcriptome atlas of the male mouse reproductive system during aging

The testis, efferent ductules, epididymis, and vas deferens, constituting the majority of male reproductive tract, are the regions for testosterone production, spermatogenesis, and sperm maturation, storage and discharge, but whether these regions change during aging is unknown. Here, we addressed this by investigating the adult (3-month) and aged (18-month) transcriptomes from seven regions of male mouse reproductive tract:the testis, efferent ductules, initial segment, caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, and vas deferens. We identified various of region-specific genes across different regions of male mouse reproductive tract. Moreover, we identified region-dependent changes of transcripts at an anatomic resolution. This study provides a framework for futher studies on male reproducitve aging. Overall design: The tissues (testis, efferent ductules, initial segment, caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, and vas deferens) were dissected from the 3 months (n = 4) and 21 months old mice (n = 4). After total RNA extraction and library preparation, high throughput RNA sequencing was performed using Illumina novaseq 6000. Reads were aligned with Hisat2 to the mouse genome (Ensemble Mouse GRCm38).

构成雄性生殖道主体的睾丸、输出小管、附睾以及输精管，是睾酮产生、精子发生以及精子成熟、储存与排出的关键区域，但目前尚不明确这些区域是否会随衰老发生变化。本研究通过分析成年（3月龄）与老年（18月龄）雄性小鼠生殖道7个区域的转录组来解答这一问题，这7个区域分别为睾丸、输出小管、初始段、附睾头、附睾体、附睾尾以及输精管。研究团队鉴定出了雄性小鼠生殖道不同区域的多种区域特异性基因，此外还在解剖学分辨率下揭示了转录本的区域依赖性变化。本研究为雄性生殖衰老的后续研究提供了研究框架。
整体实验设计：从3月龄（n=4）和21月龄（n=4）小鼠体内分离上述组织（睾丸、输出小管、初始段、附睾头、附睾体、附睾尾以及输精管）。完成总RNA提取与文库构建后，使用Illumina NovaSeq 6000平台进行高通量RNA测序。测序reads通过Hisat2比对至Ensembl小鼠GRCm38基因组。