RNF187 governs the maintenance of mouse GC-2 cell development by facilitating histone H3 ubiquitination at K57/80

Bing-Ya Xu; Xiang-Ling Yu; Wen-Xin Gao; Ting-Ting Gao; Hao-Yue Hu; Tian-Tian Wu; Cong Shen; Xiao-Yan Huang; Bo Zheng; Yi-Bo Wu

doi:10.4103/aja202368

RNF187 governs the maintenance of mouse GC-2 cell development by facilitating histone H3 ubiquitination at K57/80

Asian J Androl. 2023 Dec 19. doi: 10.4103/aja202368. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Bing-Ya Xu¹, Xiang-Ling Yu¹, Wen-Xin Gao², Ting-Ting Gao³, Hao-Yue Hu¹, Tian-Tian Wu², Cong Shen⁴, Xiao-Yan Huang², Bo Zheng⁴, Yi-Bo Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Human Reproductive and Genetic Center, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
³ Changzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou 213000, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Center for Reproduction and Genetics, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou 215002, China.

PMID: 38156805
DOI: 10.4103/aja202368

Abstract

RING finger 187 (RNF187), a ubiquitin-ligating (E3) enzyme, plays a crucial role in the proliferation of cancer cells. However, it remains unclear whether RNF187 exhibits comparable functionality in the development of germline cells. To investigate the potential involvement of RNF187 in germ cell development, we conducted interference and overexpression assays using GC-2 cells, a mouse spermatocyte-derived cell line. Our findings reveal that the interaction between RNF187 and histone H3 increases the viability, proliferation, and migratory capacity of GC-2 cells. Moreover, we provide evidence demonstrating that RNF187 interacts with H3 and mediates the ubiquitination of H3 at lysine 57 (K57) or lysine 80 (K80), directly or indirectly resulting in increased cellular transcription. This is a study to report the role of RNF187 in maintaining the development of GC-2 cells by mediating histone H3 ubiquitination, thus highlighting the involvement of the K57 and K80 residues of H3 in the epistatic regulation of gene transcription. These discoveries provide a new theoretical foundation for further comprehensive investigations into the function of RNF187 in the reproductive system.