POSTN Promotes the Proliferation of Spermatogonial Cells by Activating the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

The self-renewal of spermatogonial cells (SCs) provides the foundation for life-long spermatogenesis. To date, only a few growth factors have been used for the culture of SCs in vitro, and how to enhance proliferation capacity of SCs in vitro needs further research. This study aimed to explore the effects of periostin (POSTN) on the proliferation of human SCs. GC-1 spg cells were cultured in a medium with POSTN, cell proliferation was evaluated by MTS analysis and EdU assay, and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was examined. Thereafter, the proliferations of human SC were detected using immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. In this study, we found that CM secreted by human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) could enhance the proliferation capacity of mouse GC-1 spg cells. Label-free mass spectrometry and ELISA analysis demonstrated that high level of POSTN was secreted by hAMSCs. MTS and EdU staining showed that POSTN increased GC-1 spg cell proliferation, whereas CM from POSTN-silenced hAMSCs suppressed cell proliferation capacity. Then POSTN was found to activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to regulate the proliferation of GC-1 spg cells. XAV-939, a Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor, partially reversed the effects of POSTN on GC-1 spg cell proliferation. We then analyzed human SCs and found that POSTN promoted human SC proliferation in vitro. These findings provide insights regarding the role of POSTN in regulating SC proliferation via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and suggest that POSTN may serve as a cytokine for male infertility therapy.