Fig. 6: Sex-specific transcriptional and chromatin accessibility alterations in PGCs under hyperglycemic condition. | Cell Discovery

Fig. 6: Sex-specific transcriptional and chromatin accessibility alterations in PGCs under hyperglycemic condition.

From: Intrauterine hyperglycemia impairs mouse primordial germ cell development and fertility by sex-specific epigenetic reprogramming interference

Fig. 6

a, b PCA analysis of DEGs (a) and chromatin accessibility (b) changes in E13.5 male and female PGCs (E13.5 F vs E13.5 M) under control and IUHG conditions. c Barplots showing the numbers of female- and male-preferentially expressed DEGs (upregulated and downregulated) in E13.5 female and male PGCs under control and IUHG conditions. d The expression of sex differentiation-related genes at E13.5 PGCs: female regulatory gene network (Foxl2, Rspo1, and Wnt4) and male regulatory gene network (Cbx2, Nanos2, and Sox9) according to RNA-seq analysis (n = 3). e Genome browser view showing chromatin accessibility at TF binding sites around the Rspo1, Wnt4, and Nanos2 loci in fetal PGCs at E12.5–E16.5 development stages in control and IUHG mice. The heatmap shows the expression of those genes. f qPCR validation of sex differentiation-related genes (Rspo1, Wnt4, and Nanos2) at E13.5 PGCs shows sex-specific expression differences in control and IUHG (n = 3). g In vitro cultured female and male PGCs exposed to HG conditions demonstrate altered expression of germline-specific genes (female: Foxl2, Rspo1, and Wnt4; male: Cbx2, Nanos2, and Sox9) compared to controls (n = 3). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Wald’s test calculated by DESeq2 is used in d; Student’s t-test is used in f and g; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.

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