ABSTRACT
Transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived small non-coding RNAs (tsRNAs) are generated through specific endonucleolytic cleavage of mature or precursor tRNA at different sites and exist widely in prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcriptome, and are a new class of gene expression regulators with a variety of biological functions. tsRNAs participate in some physiological and pathological processes, including stress response, protein translation, ribosomal biosynthesis and regulating immunity. Dysregulation of tsRNAs is closely related with the occurrence and development of many human diseases. This article reviewed the advance in study on tsRNAs in gastrointestinal tumors.
ABSTRACT
The incidence of male infertility is increasing year by year, but there is a lack of non-invasive accurate diagnostic indicators for this disease, and the pathogenesis of idiopathic infertility is not yet fully clarified. Recent studies have found that there are various small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA) in the human seminal plasma and spermatic exosomes, which can be used as a novel non-invasive biomarker of male infertility. This review outlines the latest research updates on the relationship between sncRNAs in the seminal plasma and male infertility, aiming to provide some new ideas for the screening of the molecular markers of male infertility and study of its underlying molecular mechanisms.
ABSTRACT
The presence of RNA has been confirmed in mature human sperm and plays an important role in altering the early events of embryos. Increasing evidence indicates that the expression of small non-coding RNAs can be changed by environmental exposures such as the structure of paternal diet and the status of stress. As the carriers of paternal information and epigenetic markers, small non-coding RNAs can alter the development of early embryos and offspring and mediate transgenerational transmission, which offers a new target for the studies of the epigenetics of sperm. Sperm piRNA, microRNA and tRNA, which are widely present in male germ cells, can mediate transgenerational transmission via related regulation mechanisms. This review introduces some new findings about the transgenerational epigenetics concerning the three small non-coding RNAs in sperm and offers a novel insight into male reproduction.