时 间：3月19日16:00
地 点：教学主楼822会议室
主持人：高 灿 教授
报告人：周建腾 博士
题 目：Single-cell analysis of testicular bacterial microbiome changes during aging and effect on reproductive capacity
内 容：The bacterial microbiome (BM) exists within the mammalian testicular microenvironment. However, the understanding of testicular BM in terms of its composition, distribution, age-related changes, impact on reproductive capacity, and relationship with gut BM remains inadequate. Here, we employed INVADEseq to identify cell-associated (adherent and invasive) bacteria and their interacting host cells in over 10,000 single cells of young and older mouse testis. Our analysis revealed that bacteria were broadly yet sparsely distributed across various testicular cell types, with Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria as the dominating phyla. Notably, BM load exhibited spatial variation, with somatic and early-stage germ cells outside the BTB or in the basal compartment showing relatively higher BM load. Additionally, an increase in the BM load during aging was observed. Functionally, BM has multiple effects on testicular function, dysregulated biological processes and signaling included inflammation in multiple cell types, metabolic signaling in Sertoli cells, and possible developmental regression in both Leydig and peritubular cells. Finally, we compared the composition and age-related changes between testicular BM and gut BM, and no direct correlation was observed. Collectively, our findings provide a comprehensive characterization of the testicular BM during aging at single-cell resolution, elucidating its effect on reproductive capacity and its relationship with gut BM, which may facilitate the development of novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for BM- and age-associated male subfertility.
