Protein Grtp1 protects male germlines from aging and prevents offspring behavioral deficits
Growth hormone treatment rescues germline redox balance and sperm quality in aged males through a Grtp1-dependent mechanism.
In an animal study of reproductive aging, researchers used single-cell transcriptomics and cross-sex comparisons to identify Grtp1 as a key protector of male germline health. Ablating Grtp1 triggered typical aging phenotypes, including elevated oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired spermatogenesis. Loss of Grtp1 also disrupted sperm DNA methylation stability and led to anxiety and social deficits in offspring.
Mechanistically, GRTP1 interacts with PRDX1, PRDX4, and TXN to maintain redox homeostasis in the germline. Administering growth hormone to aged males restored redox balance, corrected abnormal sperm DNA methylation, improved sperm quality, and ameliorated behavioral deficits in offspring in a Grtp1-dependent manner.
Why it matters
The study highlights how paternal aging drives intergenerational behavioral abnormalities through germline oxidative stress and epigenetic changes. It also identifies the growth hormone and Grtp1 axis as a potential target to protect aging male fertility and offspring health.
Caveats
The research was conducted in animal models, meaning the findings may not directly translate to human reproductive biology.
- Growth hormone
- GRTP1 knockout
- Epigenetic alterations
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- DNA methylation
- Growth hormone axis
- Oxidative stress and ROS signalling
- Grtp1
- Prdx1
- Txn1
- Anxiety
- Social deficits
The paper
Grtp1 Safeguards Against Paternal Reproductive Aging and Intergenerational Behavioral Deficits by Preserving Redox Homeostasis
Liu Y, Liu S, Liang H et al.
Advanced Science · 27 Sep 2026