miR-22-5p regulates the self-renewal of spermatogonial stem cells by targeting EZH2

MiRNAs play an important role in spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the basic function of miR-22-5p in cryptorchidism. The results of RT-PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry showed that miR-22-5p was increased while EZH2 decreased in the testicular tissues of patients with cryptorchidism. Overexpression of miR-22-5p inhibited the proliferation of SSCs, increased cell apoptosis rate, and reduced expression of SSC marker proteins (GDNF and DAZL); however, knockout of miR-22-5p has the opposite effect. The Luciferase reporter gene assays demonstrated that EZH2 is a direct target of miR-22-5p. Moreover, EZH2 overexpression could reverse the effect of miR-22-5p mimic on SSCs’ proliferation, apoptosis, and expression of SSC marker proteins. Our results demonstrated that miR-22-5p regulates SSCs’ self-renewal by targeting EZH2, which indicated that miR-22-5p may serve as a biological marker for the treatment of infertility caused by cryptorchidism.