a BET bromodomain inhibitor

JQ1 has been proven have efficacy against a number of different cancers. In terms of male reproduction

JQ1 may be used as a new type of contraceptive

since JQ1 treatment in male mice could lead to germ cell defects and a decrease of sperm motility

moreover

this effect is reversible. However

the mechanism of JQ1 acting on gene regulation in spermatogenesis remains unclear. Here

we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on mouse testes treated with JQ1 or vehicle control to determine the transcriptional regulatory function of JQ1 in spermatogenesis at the single cell resolution. We confirmed that JQ1 treatment could increase the numbers of somatic cells and spermatocytes and decrease the numbers of spermatid cells. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis demonstrated that differentially expressed genes which were down-regulated after JQ1 injection were mainly enriched in “DNA conformation change” biological process in early developmental germ cells and “spermatid development” biological process in spermatid cells. ATAC-seq data further confirmed that JQ1 injection could change the open state of chromatin. In addition

JQ1 could change the numbers of accessible meiotic DNA double-stranded break sites and the types of transcription factor motif that functioned in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. The multi-omics analysis revealed that JQ1 had the ability to regulate gene transcription by changing chromatin conformation in mouse spermatogenesis

which would potentiate the availability of JQ1 in male contraceptive.