Sex-dependent regulation of vertebrate somatic growth and aging by germ cells

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 10; no. 24; p. eadi1621
• Main Authors: Abe, Kota, Ino, Hikaru, Niwa, Tomomi, Semmy, Daniel, Takaochi, Ayami, Nishimura, Takashi, Mogi, Chihiro, Uenaka, Maki, Ishii, Masaru, Tanaka, Kaori, Ohkawa, Yasuyuki, Ishitani, Tohru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 14.06.2024
• Subjects: Aging - physiology; Animals; Biomedicine and Life Sciences; Body Size; Developmental Biology; Estrogens - metabolism; Female; Germ Cells - cytology; Germ Cells - metabolism; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism; Male; SciAdv r-articles; Sex Characteristics; Signal Transduction; Vertebrates; Vitamin D - metabolism
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1621

The function of germ cells in somatic growth and aging has been demonstrated in invertebrate models but remains unclear in vertebrates. We demonstrated sex-dependent somatic regulation by germ cells in the short-lived vertebrate model . In females, germ cell removal shortened life span, decreased estrogen, and increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling. In contrast, germ cell removal in males improved their health with increased vitamin D signaling. Body size increased in both sexes but was caused by different signaling pathways, i.e., IGF-1 and vitamin D in females and males, respectively. Thus, vertebrate germ cells regulate somatic growth and aging through different pathways of the endocrine system, depending on the sex, which may underlie the sexual difference in reproductive strategies.