哺乳动物中由精子RNA介导的跨代遗传的研究进展

Transgenerational Inheritance of Mammalian Acquired Characteristics via Spermatozoal RNAs

随着表观遗传学的飞速发展,拉马克的获得性遗传理论又重新得到了学术界的关注.近年,哺乳动物获得性性状的跨代遗传现象也得到了较为深入的研究.在获得性性状的跨代遗传过程中,由环境压力导致的表观遗传信息经由生殖系在代际间传递.其中,在环境压力相关的表观遗传信息的建立及传递过程中,精子小非编码RNA(small non-coding RNA,sncRNAs)发挥关键作用,环境压力信息以sncRNAs的形式储存在成熟精子中,通过受精作用,精子sncRNAs参与胎儿原始生殖细胞基因组的表观遗传修饰,将表观遗传信息跨代传递,进而影响获得性性状相关的基因表达.本文主要综述了精子sncRNAs参与获得性性状跨代遗传的机制,为研究遗传性的代谢疾病、促进人类生殖健康及家畜良种繁育提供新思路.

With the rapid development of epigenetics, there has been increasing concern with Lamarck＇ s theory of evolution which shed light on the inheritance of acquired characteristics. In recent years, transgenerational inheritance of mammalian acquired characteristics has also been investigated in detail. Epigenetic information, induced by environmental stresses, is transmitted through the germline during transgenerational inheritance of mammalian acquired characteristics. Spermatozoal sncRNAs play a key role in the establishment of epigenetic information which is associated with environmental stresses and function during transmission of epigenetic information. The environmental stresses related epigenetic information, embodied in sncRNAs, is stored in the mature spermatozoa. Subsequently, spermatozoal sncRNAs is involved in epigenetic modification in primordial germ cells after fertilization. Then these epigenetic modifications can be transmitted between generations, thereby affecting the expression of genes which are associated with acquired characteristics. In this paper, we review the mechanism through which spermatozoal sncRNAs participate in transgenerational inheritance of mammalian acquired characteristics, providing new ideas to investigate hereditary metabolic diseases or to promote human reproductive health and livestock breeding.