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Differential susceptibility of male and female germ cells to glucocorticoid-mediated signaling.

Steven A Cincotta | Nainoa Richardson | Mariko H Foecke | Diana J Laird
eLife | 2024

While physiologic stress has long been known to impair mammalian reproductive capacity through hormonal dysregulation, mounting evidence now suggests that stress experienced prior to or during gestation may also negatively impact the health of future offspring. Rodent models of gestational physiologic stress can induce neurologic and behavioral changes that persist for up to three generations, suggesting that stress signals can induce lasting epigenetic changes in the germline. Treatment with glucocorticoid stress hormones is sufficient to recapitulate the transgenerational changes seen in physiologic stress models. These hormones are known to bind and activate the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a ligand-inducible transcription factor, thus implicating GR-mediated signaling as a potential contributor to the transgenerational inheritance of stress-induced phenotypes. Here, we demonstrate dynamic spatiotemporal regulation of GR expression in the mouse germline, showing expression in the fetal oocyte as well as the perinatal and adult spermatogonia. Functionally, we find that fetal oocytes are intrinsically buffered against changes in GR signaling, as neither genetic deletion of GR nor GR agonism with dexamethasone altered the transcriptional landscape or the progression of fetal oocytes through meiosis. In contrast, our studies revealed that the male germline is susceptible to glucocorticoid-mediated signaling, specifically by regulating RNA splicing within the spermatogonia, although this does not abrogate fertility. Together, our work suggests a sexually dimorphic function for GR in the germline, and represents an important step towards understanding the mechanisms by which stress can modulate the transmission of genetic information through the germline.

Pubmed ID: 38226689

Associated grants

  • Agency: NIDDK NIH HHS, United States
    Id: T32 DK007418
  • Agency: NIEHS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01ES028212
  • Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
    Id: F31 HD101234
  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01GM122902
  • Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
    Id: F31 HD110208
  • Agency: NIEHS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: P30-ES030284
  • Agency: NIEHS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01 ES028212
  • Agency: NIEHS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: P30 ES030284
  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01 GM122902
  • Agency: NIEHS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R21 ES023297
  • Agency: NIDDK NIH HHS, United States
    Id: T32-DK007418

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