ReviewCellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS2021
Building RNA-protein germ granules: insights from the multifaceted functions of DEAD-box helicase Vasa/Ddx4 in germline development.
Review in Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- BOULE is Essential for the Dynamic Disassembly of Heat Shock Granules in Male Germ Cells.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
- Cyprinid Juji (Gobiocypris rarus) as a model fish to study germ cell development and gonadal differentiation.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Combinatorial tagging generates a multi-purpose knock-in mouse model revealing phase separation-dependent germ granules in RNA homeostasis and germline development.Cell death and differentiation · 2025Article
- The nuclear exosome co-factor MTR4 shapes the transcriptome for meiotic initiation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Insights into the role of hnRNPK in spermatogenesis via the piRNA pathway.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Deletion ofBiology · 2024Article
- Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the intercellular crosstalk and the regulatory landscape of stromal cells during the whole life of the mouse ovary.Life medicine · 2024Article
- Protein disulfide isomerase is essential for spermatogenesis in mice.JCI insight · 2024Article
- Me31B: a key repressor in germline regulation and beyond.Bioscience reports · 2024Review
- Unlocking Genetic Mysteries during the Epic Sperm Journey toward Fertilization: Further ExpandingBiomolecules · 2024Review
- Article
- Induced formation of primordial germ cells from zebrafish blastomeres by germplasm factors.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Cellular functions of eukaryotic RNA helicases and their links to human diseases.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2023Review
- Structural basis for high-order complex of SARNP and DDX39B to facilitate mRNP assembly.Cell reports · 2023Article
- RNA Helicase Vasa as a Multifunctional Conservative Regulator of Gametogenesis in Eukaryotes.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Review
- Maternal NAT10 orchestrates oocyte meiotic cell-cycle progression and maturation in mice.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Vasa, a regulator of localized mRNA translation on the spindle.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2023Review
- The germline factor DDX4 contributes to the chemoresistance of small cell lung cancer cells.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Identification of fish spermatogenic cells through high-throughput immunofluorescence against testis with an antibody set.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The segregation and maintenance of a dedicated germline in multicellular organisms is essential for species propagation in the sexually reproducing metazoan kingdom. The germline is distinct from somatic cells in that it is ultimately dedicated to acquiring the "totipotency" and to regenerating the offspring after fertilization. The most striking feature of germ cells lies in the presence of characteristic membraneless germ granules that have recently proven to behave like liquid droplets resulting from liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Vasa/Ddx4, a faithful DEAD-box family germline marker highly conserved across metazoan species, harbors canonical DEAD-box motifs and typical intrinsically disordered sequences at both the N-terminus and C-terminus. This feature enables it to serve as a primary driving force behind germ granule formation and helicase-mediated RNA metabolism (e.g., piRNA biogenesis). Genetic ablation of Vasa/Ddx4 or the catalytic-dead mutations abolishing its helicase activity led to sexually dimorphic germline defects resulting in either male or female sterility among diverse species. While recent efforts have discovered pivotal functions of Vasa/Ddx4 in somatic cells, especially in multipotent stem cells, we herein summarize the helicase-dependent and -independent functions of Vasa/Ddx4 in the germline, and discuss recent findings of Vasa/Ddx4-mediated phase separation, germ granule formation and piRNA-dependent retrotransposon control essential for germline development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.