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. 2011 Jun;38(2):61-7.
doi: 10.5653/cerm.2011.38.2.61. Epub 2011 Jun 30.

Functions of PIWI proteins in spermatogenesis

Chong Won Bak  1 , Tae-Ki Yoon, Youngsok Choi
Affiliations

Functions of PIWI proteins in spermatogenesis

Chong Won Bak et al. Clin Exp Reprod Med. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Recently, a significant understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating spermatogenesis has been achieved utilizing small RNA molecules (small RNAs), including small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) which emerged as important regulators of gene expression at the post-transcriptional or translation level. piRNAs are only present in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids, whereas miRNAs are expressed abundantly in male germ cells throughout spermatogenesis. This review is aimed at providing a glimpse of piRNAs and their interacting family proteins such as PIWIL1, PIWIL2, and PIWIL4 in spermatogenesis.

Keywords: Human; Infertility; Mice; PIWI Protein; Spermatogenesis; piRNAs.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A diagram of expression of PIWI proteins and meiosis in spermatogenesis. PIWI expression is detectable at early embryonic day. PIWI proteins seem to take over the regulation of piRNA during meiosis in spermatogenesis. E, embryonic day; P, postnatal day (This figure is adapted from the reviews by Thomson and Lin [53], and Tushir et al. [54].).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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