Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 6 Involved in Germ Cell Viability during Spermatogenesis and Down-Regulated by the Androgen Receptor

Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) are of great importance to spermatogenesis and male fertility. AR knockout (ARKO) mice display a complete insensitivity to androgens and male infertility; however, the exact molecular mechanism for this effect remains unclear. In this study, we found that the expression levels of Prmt6 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in the testes of ARKO mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. PRMT6 was principally localized to the nucleus of spermatogonia and spermatocytes by immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, luciferase assay data showed that AR together with testosterone treatment suppressed Prmt6 transcription via binding to the androgen-responsive element (ARE) of the Prmt6 promoter. Moreover, knockdown of Prmt6 suppressed germ cells migration and promoted apoptosis. In addition, both of these cellular activities could not be enhanced by testosterone treatment. Taken together, these data indicate that PRMT6, which was down-regulated by AR and influenced cell migration and apoptosis of germ cells, could play a potentially important role in spermatogenesis.