Augmentation of progestin signaling rescues testis organization and spermatogenesis in zebrafish with the depletion of androgen signaling.

Abstract

Disruption of androgen signaling is known to cause testicular malformation and defective spermatogenesis in zebrafish. However, knockout of <i>cyp17a1</i>, a key enzyme responsible for the androgen synthesis, in <i>ar</i>-/- male zebrafish paradoxically causes testicular hypertrophy and enhanced spermatogenesis. Because Cyp17a1 plays key roles in hydroxylation of pregnenolone and progesterone (P4), and converts 17α-hydroxypregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone to androstenedione, we hypothesize that the unexpected phenotype in <i>cyp17a1</i>-/-;<i>androgen receptor</i> (<i>ar</i>)-/- zebrafish may be mediated through an augmentation of progestin/nuclear progestin receptor (nPgr) signaling. In support of this hypothesis, we show that knockout of <i>cyp17a1</i> leads to accumulation of 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP) and P4. Further, administration of progestin, a synthetic DHP mimetic, is sufficient to rescue testicular development and spermatogenesis in <i>ar</i>-/- zebrafish, whereas knockout of <i>npgr</i> abolishes the rescue effect of <i>cyp17a1</i>-/- in the <i>cyp17a1</i>-/-;<i>ar</i>-/- double mutant. Analyses of the transcriptomes among the mutants with defective testicular organization and spermatogenesis (<i>ar</i>-/-, <i>ar</i>-/-;<i>npgr</i>-/- and <i>cyp17a</i>-/-;<i>ar</i>-/-;<i>npgr</i>-/-), those with normal phenotype (control and <i>cyp17a1</i>-/-), and rescued phenotype (<i>cyp17a1</i>-/-;<i>ar</i>-/-) reveal a common link between a downregulated expression of <i>insl3</i> and its related downstream genes in <i>cyp17a</i>-/-;<i>ar</i>-/-;<i>npgr</i>-/- zebrafish. Taken together, our data suggest that genetic or pharmacological augmentation of the progestin/nPgr pathway is sufficient to restore testis organization and spermatogenesis in zebrafish with the depletion of androgen signaling.