[Frontiers in Bioscience S4, 1266-1274, June 1, 2012]

Small RNA in spermatogenesis and male infertility

Singh Rajender1, Corey Meador2, Ashok Agarwal2

1Central Drug Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lucknow, U.P., India, 2Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. miRNA, spermatogenesis and male fertility
4. piRNA, spermatogenesis and male fertility
5. Small RNAs and male infertility
6. Small RNA based gene therapy
7. Conclusion and future directions
8. Acknowledgement
9. References

1. ABSTRACT

Small RNA has become a crucial regulator of protein synthesis during spermatogenesis. Alterations in small RNA function prove to be detrimental to proper spermatogenesis. As many patients suffer from idiopathic infertility, understanding the molecular mechanisms of small RNA identifies possible causes of certain types of infertility. With a comprehensive review of the history of miRNA and piRNA function and specificity in the testis from a wide range of studies offers a view of detrimental defects of small RNA. By combining a concise overview of small RNA mechanism and recent research we explain how some cases of male infertility can be a product of complications in specific small RNA functions. The future direction section offers insight into how infertility treatment may be approached with a novel perspective.