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Chen L, Song J, Zhang J, Luo Z, Chen X, Zhou C, Shen X. Spermatogenic cell-specific SPACA4 is essential for efficient sperm-zona pellucida binding in vitro. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1204017. [PMID: 37377732 PMCID: PMC10291262 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1204017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Fertilization is a complex and highly regulated process that involves a series of molecular interactions between sperm and oocytes. However, the mechanisms of proteins involved in human fertilization, such as that of testis-specific SPACA4, remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrated that SPACA4 is a spermatogenic cell-specific protein. SPACA4 is expressed during spermatogenesis, upregulated in early-stage spermatids, and downregulated in elongating spermatids. SPACA4 is an intracellular protein that locates in the acrosome and is lost during the acrosome reaction. Incubation with antibodies against SPACA4 inhibited the binding of spermatozoa to zona pellucida. SPACA4 protein expression levels across different semen parameters were similar but varied significantly among patients. A prospective clinical study found no association between SPACA4 protein levels and fertilization or cleavage rates. Thus, the study suggests a novel function for SPACA4 in human fertilization in a non-dose-dependent manner. However, a larger clinical trial is required to evaluate the potential use of sperm SPACA4 protein levels to predict fertilization potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Chen
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junli Song
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinglei Zhang
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zicong Luo
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuren Chen
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Canquan Zhou
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Medical Research Center for Obstetrical and Gynecological Diseases, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoting Shen
- Reproductive Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Medical Research Center for Obstetrical and Gynecological Diseases, Guangzhou, China
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Chen Y, Wei H, Liu Y, Gao F, Chen Z, Wang P, Li L, Zhang S. Identification of new protein biomarkers associated with the boar fertility using iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 162:50-59. [PMID: 32553959 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.06.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we performed the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic analysis in the spermatozoa of Landrace boars with different fertility potentials and investigated the ability of sperm acrosome associated 4 (SPACA4) and IZUMO family member 2 (IZUMO2) to predict the reproductive perform of boars. The iTRAQ results revealed that 202 proteins were up-regulated and 43 proteins were down-regulated in the spermatozoa from high fertility boars. SPACA4 and IZUMO2 protein levels were significantly up-regulated in the spermatozoa from high fertility boars. SPACA4 and IZUMO2 expression were specifically detected in the adult boar testis. SPACA4 levels were positively correlated with Sow's farrowing rate and reproductive efficiency, but not litter size. IZUMO2 were positively correlated with litter size, Sow's farrowing rate and reproductive efficiency. Treating the boar semen with SPACA4 or IZUMO2 antibodies for 30 min and 60 min failed to affect the sperm motility; while treating the semen with SPACA4 antibody significantly reduced the fertilization and cleavage rates. Similar results for fertilization and cleavage rates were found in IZUMO2 antibody-treated semen. Collectively, our results indicated that protein levels of SPACA4 and IZUMO2 in the spermatozoa were positively related to the reproductive performance of Landrace boars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuming Chen
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Hengxi Wei
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
| | - Yanting Liu
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Fenglei Gao
- Department of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, College of Guangdong Agriculture Industry Business Polytechnic, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510507, China
| | - Zhilin Chen
- Technology Department, Guangdong Wen's Foodstuffs Group Co., Ltd., Yunfu, Guangdong 527400, China
| | - Ping Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Li Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Shouquan Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
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