Increased male fertility using fertility-related biomarkers
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Authors
Kwon, Woo-Sung
Rahman, Saidur
Ryu, Do-Yeal
Park, Yoo-Jin
Panga, Myung-Geol
Issue Date
2015-10-22
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
Fertility-Related Bomarkers , Male Fertility
Alternative Title
Abstract
Conventional semen analyses are used to evaluate male factor fertility/infertility in humans and other animals. However, their clinical value remains controversial. Therefore, new tools that more accurately assess male fertility based on sperm function and fertilization mechanism are of interest worldwide. While protein markers in spermatozoa that might help differentiate fertile and infertile sperm have been identified, studies are in their infancy, and the markers require validation in field trials. In the present study, to discover more sensitive biomarkers in spermatozoa for predicting male fertility, we assessed protein expression in capacitated spermatozoa. The results demonstrated that cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit 2 (UQCRC2) was abundantly expressed in high-litter size spermatozoa (>3-fold). On the other hand, equatorin, beta-tubulin, cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit 1 (UQCRC1), speriolin, Ras-related protein Rab-2A (RAB2A), spermadhesin AQN-3, and seminal plasma sperm motility inhibitor were abundantly expressed in low-litter size spermatozoa (>3-fold). Moreover, RAB2A and UQCRC1 expression negatively correlated with litter size, while UQCRC2 expression positively correlated with litter size. Finally, the putative biomarkers predicted litter size in field trials. Our study suggests that biomarkers present in spermatozoa after capacitation can help differentiate superior male fertility from below-average fertility with high sensitivity.
Description
Citation
Kwon, W. S., Rahman, M. S., Ryu, D. Y., Park, Y. J., & Pang, M. G. (2015). Increased male fertility using fertility-related biomarkers. Scientific reports, 5, 15654. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15654
Publisher
Scientific Reports Natureresearch