The meiotic transcriptional reprogramming mediated by cell-cell communications in human and mice revealed by scATACseq and scRNAseq

Meiosis is a highly sophisticated process, in which transcriptional regulations play a critical role. However, the mechanism of transcriptome changes during meiosis, especially prophase I, has been poorly studied. Here we performed single-cell ATACseq of human testis and found a reprogramming process at the transition from zygotene to pachytene spermatocytes. Conserved in mice, genes that functioned in meiosis were deactivated after reprogramming while that functioned in spermatogenesis were activated before their functions. Furthermore, we identified 282 transcription regulators (TRs) activating or deactivating after this process and physical contact signals from Sertoli cells have been shown to potentially regulate the activation of above TRs in spermatocytes. And the secreted signal ENHO may play a significant role to alter metabolic patterns in spermatocytes. Finally, our results showed defective transcriptional reprogramming may be associated with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Our work revealed that both the physical contact and secreted signals between Sertoli cells and germ cells were critical for the progress of meiosis.