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Expression of Tas1 taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa: functional role of Tas1r1 in regulating basal Ca²? and cAMP concentrations in spermatozoa.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: During their transit through the female genital tract, sperm have to recognize and discriminate numerous chemical compounds. However, our current knowledge of the molecular identity of appropriate chemosensory receptor proteins in sperm is still rudimentary. Considering that members of the Tas1r family of taste receptors are able to discriminate between a broad diversity of hydrophilic chemosensory substances, the expression of taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa was examined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present manuscript documents that Tas1r1 and Tas1r3, which form the functional receptor for monosodium glutamate (umami) in taste buds on the tongue, are expressed in murine and human spermatozoa, where their localization is restricted to distinct segments of the flagellum and the acrosomal cap of the sperm head. Employing a Tas1r1-deficient mCherry reporter mouse strain, we found that Tas1r1 gene deletion resulted in spermatogenic abnormalities. In addition, a significant increase in spontaneous acrosomal reaction was observed in Tas1r1 null mutant sperm whereas acrosomal secretion triggered by isolated zona pellucida or the Ca²? ionophore A23187 was not different from wild-type spermatozoa. Remarkably, cytosolic Ca²? levels in freshly isolated Tas1r1-deficient sperm were significantly higher compared to wild-type cells. Moreover, a significantly higher basal cAMP concentration was detected in freshly isolated Tas1r1-deficient epididymal spermatozoa, whereas upon inhibition of phosphodiesterase or sperm capacitation, the amount of cAMP was not different between both genotypes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Since Ca²? and cAMP control fundamental processes during the sequential process of fertilization, we propose that the identified taste receptors and coupled signaling cascades keep sperm in a chronically quiescent state until they arrive in the vicinity of the egg - either by constitutive receptor activity and/or by tonic receptor activation by gradients of diverse chemical compounds in different compartments of the female reproductive tract.

SUBMITTER: Meyer D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3303551 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Expression of Tas1 taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa: functional role of Tas1r1 in regulating basal Ca²⁺ and cAMP concentrations in spermatozoa.

Meyer Dorke D Voigt Anja A Widmayer Patricia P Borth Heike H Huebner Sandra S Breit Andreas A Marschall Susan S de Angelis Martin Hrabé MH Boehm Ulrich U Meyerhof Wolfgang W Gudermann Thomas T Boekhoff Ingrid I

PloS one 20120229 2

<h4>Background</h4>During their transit through the female genital tract, sperm have to recognize and discriminate numerous chemical compounds. However, our current knowledge of the molecular identity of appropriate chemosensory receptor proteins in sperm is still rudimentary. Considering that members of the Tas1r family of taste receptors are able to discriminate between a broad diversity of hydrophilic chemosensory substances, the expression of taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa was exam ...[more]

PMID: 22427794

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Project description:Cats are obligate carnivores and under most circumstances eat only animal products. Owing to the pseudogenization of one of two subunits of the sweet receptor gene, they are indifferent to sweeteners, presumably having no need to detect plant-based sugars in their diet. Following this reasoning and a recent report of a positive correlation between the proportion of dietary plants and the number of Tas2r (bitter receptor) genes in vertebrate species, we tested the hypothesis that if bitter perception exists primarily to protect animals from poisonous plant compounds, the genome of the domestic cat (Felis catus) should have lost functional bitter receptors and they should also have reduced bitter receptor function. To test functionality of cat bitter receptors, we expressed cat Tas2R receptors in cell-based assays. We found that they have at least 7 functional receptors with distinct receptive ranges, showing many similarities, along with some differences, with human bitter receptors. To provide a comparative perspective, we compared the cat repertoire of intact receptors with those of a restricted number of members of the order Carnivora, with a range of dietary habits as reported in the literature. The numbers of functional bitter receptors in the terrestrial Carnivora we examined, including omnivorous and herbivorous species, were roughly comparable to that of cats thereby providing no strong support for the hypothesis that a strict meat diet influences bitter receptor number or function. Maintenance of bitter receptor function in terrestrial obligate carnivores may be due to the presence of bitter compounds in vertebrate and invertebrate prey, to the necessary role these receptors play in non-oral perception, or to other unknown factors. We also found that the two aquatic Carnivora species examined had fewer intact bitter receptors. Further comparative studies of factors driving numbers and functions of bitter taste receptors will aid in understanding the forces shaping their repertoire.

Dataset Information

Expression of Tas1 taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa: functional role of Tas1r1 in regulating basal Ca²? and cAMP concentrations in spermatozoa.

Publications

Expression of Tas1 taste receptors in mammalian spermatozoa: functional role of Tas1r1 in regulating basal Ca²⁺ and cAMP concentrations in spermatozoa.

Similar Datasets

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