{
  "abstract": "N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant RNA modification in eukaryotes. ALKBH5 is an m6A demethylase that is essential for spermatogenesis. However, its function in meiotic prophase remains elusive. Here, we report that Alkbh5-knockout spermatocytes exhibit normal double-strand break (DSB) formation, homologous recombination and synapsis on autosomes but impaired synapsis between sex chromosomes. ALKBH5 depletion causes a significantly upregulated transcriptome on sex chromosomes and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) defects in spermatocytes at the pachytene stage. Mechanistically, ALKBH5 regulates SETDB1 expression in a post-transcriptional manner. Alkbh5 knockout inhibits SETDB1 protein expression, leading to the decreased SETDB1 signals on sex chromosomes and subsequently inhibiting H3K9me3 to form heterochromatin and silence transcriptional activity. Taken together, our findings identify ALKBH5 as a critical regulator of male meiosis by demonstrating that it is required to maintain proper SETDB1 protein levels, which in turn ensures the faithful execution of MSCI.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education), Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China",
    "Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China",
    "Institute of Medical Genetics and Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China",
    "Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Maternal and Infant Health, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qingqing Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yu Xiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yang Song"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sisi Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qingwen Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zhekun Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qichao Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Min Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yimin Zhu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9667-3677"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Long Bai",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5807-7997"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8e458k83zy9t9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s42003-026-10636-8",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13737211/",
  "id": "8e458k83zy9t9",
  "issns": [
    "2399-3642"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10636-8",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2743|Sperm and Testicular Function"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7168187160",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-10636-8_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13737211",
  "pmid": "42443451",
  "published": "2026-07-13",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8e458k83zy9t9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:22:28Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13737211",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10636-8"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2743|Sperm and Testicular Function",
      "subfield": "reproductive-child"
    }
  ],
  "title": "ALKBH5 is required to maintain proper SETDB1 protein levels associated with meiotic sex chromosome inactivation",
  "title_text": "ALKBH5 is required to maintain proper SETDB1 protein levels associated with meiotic sex chromosome inactivation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:22:28Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8e458k83zy9t9",
  "venue": "Communications Biology",
  "versions": []
}