An overview of novel transcription factors involved in spermatogonial stem cells

Abstract

A unique subset of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) initiates and maintains spermatogenesis. These SSCs have unique morphological traits attached to the seminiferous tubules basement membrane. They provide the groundwork for a healthy stem cell system in the testis, which is essential for spermatogenesis and other reproductive functions. The fascinating proteins known as transcription factors (TFs) have a great deal of control over gene expression in all living things. Some TFs are essential to the coordination of the complex dance known as spermatogenesis. Certain mutations in TFs may lead to the disorder of spermatogenesis. Distinguishing these TFs will be helpful to understand spermatogenesis and to locate possible therapeutic targets. In this chapter, we will review the recently identified TFs including E4F1, FoxP4, A-MYB, TCFL5, and TCF3 that play a role in SSCs. Enrich Shiny gene ontology and Cytoscape tools were used to predict the molecular connections and functional characteristics of proteins in order to find the key pathways. Our bioinformatic analysis will help us to understand these new and important connections between the TFs and the remaining gene expression in the protein network.