GASZ self-interaction clusters mitochondria into the intermitochondrial cement for proper germ cell development.

Abstract

Mitochondrial features and activities vary in a cell type- and developmental stage-dependent manner to critically impact cell function and lineage development. Particularly in male germ cells, mitochondria are uniquely clustered into intermitochondrial cement (IMC), an electron-dense granule in the cytoplasm to support proper spermatogenesis. But it remains puzzling how mitochondria assemble into such a stable structure as IMC without limiting membrane during development. Here, we showed that GASZ (germ cell-specific, ankyrin repeat, SAM and basic leucine zipper domain containing protein), a mitochondrion-localized germ cell-specific protein, self-interacted with each other to cluster mitochondria and maintain protein stability for IMC assembling. When the self-interaction of GASZ was disrupted by either deleting its critical interaction motif or using a blocking peptide, the IMC structure was destabilized, which in turn led to impaired spermatogenesis. Notably, the blocked spermatogenesis was reversible once GASZ self-interaction was recovered. Our findings thus reveal a critical mechanism by which mitochondrion-based granules are properly assembled to support germ cell development while providing an alternative strategy for developing nonhormonal male contraceptives by targeting IMC protein interactions.