Comparative Proteomics Elucidates the Potential Mechanism of Sperm Capacitation of Chinese Mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis)

Sperm capacitation is broadly defined as a suite of biochemical and biophysical changes resulting from the acquisition of fertilization ability. To gain insights into the regulation mechanism of crustacean sperm capacitation, 4D label-free quantitative proteomics was first applied to analyze the changes of sperm in Eriocheir sinensis under three sequential physiological conditions: seminal vesicles (X2), hatched with the seminal receptacle content (X3), and incubated with egg water (X5). In total, 1536 proteins were identified, among which 880 proteins were quantified, with 82 and 224 proteins significantly altered after incubation with the seminal receptacle contents and egg water. Most differentially expressed proteins were attributed to biological processes by Gene Ontology annotation analysis. As the fundamental bioenergetic metabolism of sperm, the oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, and the pentose phosphate pathway presented significant changes under the treatment of seminal receptacle contents, indicating intensive regulation for sperm in the seminal receptacle. Additionally, the seminal receptacle contents also significantly increased the oxidation level of sperm, whereas the enhancement of abundance in superoxide dismutase, peroxiredoxin 1, and glutathione S-transferase after incubation with egg water significantly improved the resistance against oxidation. These results provided a new perspective for reproduction studies in crustaceans.

Sperm acrosomal released proteome reveals MDH and VDAC3 from mitochondria are involved in acrosome formation during spermatogenesis in Eriocheir sinensis

Acrosome is inextricably related to membranous organelles. The origin of acrosome is still controversial, one reason is that limited articles were reported about the proteomic analysis of the acrosome. Mitochondrial proteins were found exist in the acrosome, nevertheless, only limited attention has been paid to the function of mitochondrial proteins in the acrosome formation. Eriocheir sinensis sperm has a large acrosome, which makes it an ideal model to study acrosome formation. Here, we firstly compared the rate of acrosome reaction induced by the calcium ionophore A23187 and ionomycin. The rate of acrosome reaction induced by ionomycin is higher (95.8%) than A23187 (58.7%). Morphological changes were observed using light, confocal and transmission electron microscopy. Further more, proteins released during the acrosome reaction as induced by ionomycin were collected for LC-MS/MS analysis. A total of 945 proteins, including malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and voltage-dependent anion channel 3 (VDAC3), were identified in the acrosomal released proteome. The number of proteins from mitochondria (17.57%) was higher compared with endoplasmic reituculum (1.59%) and lysosomes (1.8%). To investigate the functions of target mitochondrial proteins during spermatogenesis, poly-antibodies of MDH in E. sinensis were prepared. The characteristics, further analyzed using immunofluorescence, of two mitochondrial proteins during acrosome formation showed that MDH and VDAC3 were independently involved in the formation of acrosomal membrane. These findings illustrate the acrosomal released proteome and provide important data resource for understanding the relationship between mitochondria and the acrosome in Decapoda crustacean.

Mannosylated glycoconjugates on the surface of activated sperm in the giant freshwater prawn are crucial for sperm binding with the egg vitelline envelop

The unusual morphology and poorly defined acrosome-like structure in the mature sperm of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii has led to difficulties in identifying the state of sperm activation. Mature distal vas deferens sperm (dVSp) can be activated by the calcium ionophore A23187 to show acrosome reaction-like enzymatic activities that increase their binding and penetration capabilities. However, these short-lived enzymatic activities limit their usefulness as a marker of sperm activation for further qualitative and quantitative analyses, leading to our examining the alterations in the exposure of sperm surface glycoconjugates both as markers of sperm activation and for their role in gamete interaction. Our results showed that after A23187 treatment, there was an increased exposure of mannosylated glycoconjugates on the sperm surface revealed by significant Concanavalin A (Con A) staining. Furthermore, sodium metaperiodate pre-treatment, Con A pre-incubation, or co-incubation with α-mannose monosaccharides all significantly reduced A23187-induced dVSp binding to the egg vitelline envelop, demonstrating the importance of sperm surface mannosylated glycoconjugates in the binding process. These same pre-treatments of sperm also resulted in the inhibition of the binding of soluble vitelline envelop proteins (MrVE) to both the sperm surface and to mannosylated dVSp protein bands. Therefore, the present study demonstrated the importance of the exposure of mannosylated glycoconjugates on the surface of activated dVSp, both as a reliable marker of sperm activation and as a binding factor in the gamete interaction process. Furthermore, these findings allow for a better understanding of the surface glycoconjugate-mediated interaction process between gametes in this species of prawn.

Existence and distribution of Niemann-Pick type 2C (NPC2) in prawn reproductive tract and its putative role as a cholesterol modulator during sperm transit in the vas deferens

Sequestering of cholesterol (CHO) is a hallmark molecular event that is known to be associated with sperm gaining their fertilizing ability in a broad array of animals. We have shown previously that the level of CHO declines in the Macrobrachium rosenbergii sperm membrane when they are migrating into the vas deferens, prompting us to search for CHO transporters, one of which is Niemann-Pick type 2C (NPC2), within the prawn male reproductive tract. Sequence comparison of MrNPC2 with other NPC2, from crustaceans to mammals, revealed its conserved features in the hydrophobic cavity with 3 amino acids forming a CHO lid that is identical in all species analyzed. Expressions of MrNPC2 transcript and protein were detected in testicular supporting and interstitial cells and along the epithelial cells of the vas deferens. As confirmed by live cell staining, the testicular sperm (Tsp) surface was devoid of MrNPC2 but it first existed on the vas deferens sperm, suggesting its acquisition from the luminal fluid, possibly through trafficking of multi-lamellar vesicles during sperm transit in the vas deferens. We further showed that recombinant MrNPC2 had a high affinity towards CHO in the lipid extracts, either from Tsp or from lipid vesicles in the vas deferens. Together, our results indicated the presence of MrNPC2 in the male reproductive tract, which may play an important role as a CHO modulator between the sperm membrane and vas deferens epithelial communication.

N-linked mannose glycoconjugates on shrimp thrombospondin, pmTSP-II, and their involvement in the sperm acrosome reaction

Glycoconjugates in egg extracellular matrices are known to serve several functions in reproductive processes. Here, the presence of N-linked mannose (Man) glycoconjugates on shrimp thrombospondin ( pmTSP-II) and their physiological functions were investigated in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. A molecular analysis of pmTSP-II demonstrated anchorage sites for N-linked glycans in both the chitin-binding and TSP3 domains. The presence of Man residues was verified by concanavalin A lectin histochemistry on the purified fraction of pmTSP-II (250 kDa with protease inhibitor). The function of the Man glycoconjugates was evident by the Con A interference with the pmTSP-II-induced acrosome reaction (AR) as well as by the ability to recover the induction of the AR by the inclusion of Mans in the treatment mixture. In addition, the recombinant proteins of the three signature pmTSP-II domains expressed in E. coli (lacking glycosylation) and mannosidase-treated pmTSP-II showed a minimal ability to initiate the AR response. Together, these results provide evidence of the pivotal role that Man-linked pmTSP-II plays in modulating the shrimp sperm AR, a novel role for a TSP family protein in shrimp reproductive biology.

Inhibitory effect of a reproductive-related serpin on sperm trypsin-like activity implicates its role in sperm maturation of Penaeus monodon

In a number of marine animals, sperm serine proteases are important for fertilization. Penaeus monodon sperm require trypsin-like activity for a complete acrosome reaction, which exclusively occurs in sperm residing in the female thelycum. In this study, a complete cDNA sequence of reproductive tract-related Serine protease inhibitor (rrPmserpin) was identified. The longest open reading frame was composed of 1,366 nucleotides encoding 402 amino acids with a predicted pI of 6.86 and molecular mass of 44.88 kDa. The signal peptide cleavage site was identified as the 17th amino acid residue in the amino-terminus, and two potential N-glycosylation sites were predicted as post-translation modifications. A conserved reactive loop and fold similarities, identified through three-dimensional modeling, suggested that this gene is a member of the serpin family. The expression of rrPmserpin mRNA was prominent in the reproductive organs, including the testis, vas deferens, terminal ampoule containing the spermatophore, and the female thelycum. Inhibitory activity of recombinant rrPmSERPIN-6His was revealed from the negative correlation between the abundance of rrPmserpin mRNA and sperm trypsin-like activities, along with its inhibitory effects on chymotrypsin, trypsin, and thelycal proteases. Therefore, our results suggest that rrPmserpin participates in the regulation of the activity of a sperm protease and the decapacitation process.

Sperm ultrastructure of shrimps from the family Penaeidae (Crustacea: Dendrobranchiata) in a phylogenetic context

We describe the sperm ultrastructure of six penaeid species, including at least one member of each tribe (Penaeini, Parapenaeini and Trachypenaeini). Fragments of the vas deferens of the Penaeidae Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, Farfantepenaeus paulensis, Litopenaeus schmitti, Parapenaeus americanus, Rimapenaeus constrictus and Xiphopenaeus kroyeri were fixed and processed according to the routine for transmission electron microscopy. The morphological results were contextualized in an evolutionary perspective using molecular markers for the phylogenetic reconstruction of this group. A phylogram was proposed by Bayesian inference based on 1007 bp of 33 sequences of the combined genes (16S rDNA and COI mtDNA) from 27 dendrobranchiate specimens. Our findings show that morphological differences in the sperm ultrastructures of members among the tribes of Penaeidae can be used as a baseline to understand their evolutionary relationships. Individuals from the Penaeini tribe show plesiomorphic characteristics in the sperm ultrastructure compared to the Trachypenaeini tribe from which they were derived, such as shrimp from family Sicyoniidae. The morphological complexity of the sperm of the different penaeid members corroborated with the genetic phylogeny, which showed different clades for each tribe and the close relationship with Sicyoniidae. The sperm features of the selected species studied here reflected their evolutionary history. These features confirm the previous phylogenetic hypothesis and question the monophyly of Penaeidae, which should be verified in the future with a more complete set of representative members of each tribe.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Male Black Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) After Polychaete Feeding to Enhance Testicular Maturation

To reveal molecular mechanism of how polychaetes enhanced reproductive maturation in the male black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), transcriptomic profiles of male reproductive organs (testes and vas deferens) between polychaete-fed and commercial pellet-fed male brooders were compared using cDNA microarray. The overall profiles were distinguishingly different between the two feed groups as well as between testes and vas deferens. Additionally, six of 11 differentially expressed gene identified by the microarray (HNRPUL1 and GCP4 in testes, MAT2B, CDC16, and CSN5 in vas deferens, and SLD5 in both organs) were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and found to exhibit significantly higher expression levels in polychaete-fed shrimp than those in commercial pellet-fed shrimp. From microarray and qPCR results, the differentially expressed transcripts in both testes and vas deferens between different feeds belonged to DNA replication and microtubule nucleation pathways. Interestingly, while the transcripts involved in nutrient uptake and nucleotide biosynthesis were increased only in testes, those involved in protein refolding and apoptosis were increased only in vas deferens. These findings suggest that polychaetes may enhance spermatogenesis by increasing spermatogonia proliferation in testes and by regulating mature spermatozoa in vas deferens.

Enediynyl peptides and iso-coumarinyl methyl sulfones as inhibitors of proprotein convertases PCSK8/SKI-1/S1P and PCSK4/PC4: Design, synthesis and biological evaluations

The proprotein convertases PCSK8 and PCSK4 are, respectively, the 8th and 4th members of Ca(+2)-dependent serine endoprotease of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin (PCSK) super family structurally related to the bacterial subtilisin and yeast kexin. The membrane bound PCSK8 (also called SKI-1 or S1P) is implicated in sterol regulation and lipid synthesis via its role in the maturation of human (h) SREBP-2. It also plays role in cartilage formation, bone mineralization, as well as viral pathogenesis. On the other hand, PCSK4 has been linked to mammalian fertilization and placenta growth. Owing to these findings, interest has grown to develop specific inhibitors against these enzymes for potential biochemical and therapeutic applications. In this study we developed two types of small molecule inhibitors of PCSK8 and PCSK4 and demonstrated their anti-proteolytic activities in vitro cell-free and in vitro cell culture systems. These are isocoumarinyl methyl sulfone derivatives and enediyne amino acid containing peptides. Our in vitro data suggested that one of the 7 sulfone derivatives (methyl phenyl sulfone) inhibited PCSK8 with inhibition constant Ki ∼255μM. It also blocked PCSK8-mediated processing of hSREBP-2 in HepG2 cell in a concentration-dependent manner. However all 7 iso-coumarinyl methyl sulfones inhibited htrypsin with IC50 ranging from 2 to 165μM. In contrast, all our designed enediynyl peptides inhibited PCSK8 and PCSK4 activity with Ki and IC50 in low μM or high nM ranges. All compounds exhibited competitive inhibition as indicated by their enzyme kinetic plots and observed dependence of IC50 value on substrate concentration. Our study confirmed that incorporation at the substrate cleavage site of 'Enediyne amino acid' generates potent inhibitors of PCSK8 and PCSK4. This represents a novel approach for future development of inhibitors of PCSK or other enzymes.

Identification of reproduction-related proteins and characterization of proteasome alpha 3 and proteasome beta 6 cDNAs in testes of the giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon

Cellular proteomic analysis was carried out to identify reproduction-related proteins in testes of wild and domesticated broodstock of Penaeus monodon. In total, 642 protein spots were characterized and 287 spots (44.70%) significantly matched protein sequences in the databases (P<0.05). To examine a role of the proteasome system in testicular development of P. monodon, the expression profiles of proteasome alpha 3 subunit (PmPsma3) and proteasome beta 6 (PmPsmb6) mRNA in different groups of domesticated shrimp and in wild broodstock were examined. The expression levels of these transcripts in testes of 18-month-old domesticated shrimp were significantly lower than those of wild broodstock (P<0.05). Interestingly, the expression levels of testicular PmPsma3 and PmPsmb6 in 18-month-old shrimp were significantly increased at 24 h following serotonin injection (50 μg/g body weight). Results suggested that reduced degrees of maturation in captive P. monodon males may be partially resolved by exogenous 5-HT administration.

Spermatogenesis in the blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus, and evidence for histones in mature sperm nuclei

Spermatogenesis in the blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus, is described by light and electron microscopy. The testis is composed of anterior (AT) and posterior (PT) lobes, that are partitioned into lobules by connective tissue trabecula, and further divided into zones (germinal, transformation and evacuation), each with various stages of cellular differentiation. The vas deferens is classified into three distinct regions: anterior (AVD), median (MVD), and posterior (PVD), on the presence of spermatophores and two secretions, termed substance I and II. Based on the degree and patterns of heterochromatin, spermatogenesis is classified into 13 stages: two spermatogonia (SgA and SgB), six primary spermatocytes (leptotene, zygotene, pachytene, diplotene, diakinesis, and metaphase), a secondary spermatocyte (SSc), three spermatids (St 1-3), and a mature spermatozoon. Spermatid stages are differentiated by chromatin decondensation and the formation of an acrosomal complex, which is unique to brachyurans. Mature spermatozoa are aflagellated, and have a nuclear projection and a spherical acrosome. AUT-PAGE and Western blots show that, during chromatin decondensation, there is a reduction of most histones, with only small amounts of H2B and H3 remaining in mature spermatozoa.