Publication: New insights into FAK function and
regulation during spermatogenesis
Authors
Gungor-Orduer, N. Ece ; Mruk, Dolores D. ; Wan, Hin-ting ; Wong, Elissa W.P. ; Celik-Ozenci, Ciler ; Lie, Pearl P.Y. ; Cheng, C. Yan
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Publisher
F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Germ cell transport across the seminiferous
epithelium during the epithelial cycle is crucial to
spermatogenesis, although molecular mechanism(s) that
regulate these events remain unknown. Studies have
shown that spatiotemporal expression of crucial
regulatory proteins during the epithelial cycle represents
an efficient and physiologically important mechanism to
regulate spermatogenesis without involving de novo
synthesis of proteins and/or expression of genes. Herein,
we critically review the role of focal adhesion kinase
(FAK) in coordinating the transport of spermatids and
preleptotene spermatocytes across the epithelium and the
blood-testis barrier (BTB), respectively, along the apical
ectoplasmic specialization (ES) – blood-testis barrier –
basement membrane (BM) functional axis during
spermatogenesis. In the testis, p-FAK-Tyr397 and p-FAKTyr407
are spatiotemporally expressed during the
epithelial cycle at the actin-rich anchoring junction
known as ES, regulating cell adhesion at the Sertolispermatid
(apical ES) and Sertoli cell-cell (basal ES)
interface. Phosphorylated forms of FAK exert their
effects by regulating the homeostasis of F-actin at the
ES, mediated via their effects on actin polymerization so
that microfilaments are efficiently re-organized, such as
from their “bundled” to “de-bundled/branched”
configuration and vice versa during the epithelial cycle
to facilitate the transport of: (i) spermatids across the
epithelium, and (ii) preleptotene spermatocytes across
the BTB. In summary, p-FAK-Tyr407 and p-FAK-Tyr397
are important regulators of spermatogenesis which serve
as molecular switches that turn “on” and “off” adhesion
function at the apical ES and the basal ES/BTB,
mediated via their spatiotemporal expression during the
epithelial cycle. A hypothetical model depicting the role
of these two molecular switches is also proposed.
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