Dataset Information

Sperm Accumulation Induced by the Female Reproductive Fluid: Putative Evidence of Chemoattraction Using a New Tool.

ABSTRACT: There is considerable evidence that female reproductive fluid (FRF) interacts intimately with sperm, affecting several sperm traits, including sperm motility and longevity, and ultimately fertilization success. One of the first documented interactions between FRF and sperm is the ability of FRF to attract and guide sperm towards the eggs. However, most of the evidence of FRF's chemoattraction proprieties comes from a limited number of taxa, specifically mammals and invertebrate broadcasting spawners. In other species, small FRF volumes and/or short sperm longevity often impose methodological difficulties resulting in this gap in chemoattraction studies in non-model species. One of the outcomes of sperm chemotaxis is sperm accumulation towards high chemoattractant concentrations, which can be easily quantified by measuring sperm concentration. Here, we tested sperm accumulation towards FRF in the zebrafish, Danio rerio, using an ad hoc developed, 3D printed, device ('sperm selection chamber'). This easy-to-use tool allows to select and collect the sperm that swim towards a chemical gradient, and accumulate in a chemoattractant-filled well thus providing putative evidence for chemoattraction. We found that sperm accumulate in FRF in zebrafish. We also found that none of the sperm quality traits we measured (sperm swimming velocity and trajectory, sperm motility, and longevity) were correlated with this response. Together with the 3D printable project, we provide a detailed protocol for using the selection chamber. The chamber is optimized for the zebrafish, but it can be easily adapted for other species. Our device lays the foundation for a standardized way to measure sperm accumulation and in general chemoattraction, stimulating future research aimed at understanding the role and the mechanisms of sperm chemoattraction by FRF.

SUBMITTER: Devigili A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8467055 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND:The putative regulatory role of the male reproductive hormones in the molecular mechanism underlying chromatin condensation remains poorly understood. In the past decade, we developed two adult male rat models wherein functional deficits of testosterone or FSH, produced after treatments with 20?mg/Kg/d of cyproterone acetate (CPA) per os, for a period of 15?days or 3?mg/Kg/d of fluphenazine decanoate (FD) subcutaneously, for a period of 60?days, respectively, affected the rate of sperm chromatin decondensation in vitro. These rat models have been used in the current study in order to delineate the putative roles of testosterone and FSH in the molecular mechanism underlying remodelling of sperm chromatin. RESULTS:We report that deficits of both testosterone and FSH affected the turnover of polyubiquitylated histones and led to their accumulation in the testis. Functional deficits of testosterone reduced expression of MIWI, the 5-methyl cap binding RNA-binding protein (PIWIlike murine homologue of the Drosophila protein PIWI/P-element induced wimpy testis) containing a PAZ/Piwi-Argonaut-Zwille domain and levels of histone deacetylase1 (HDAC1), ubiquitin ligating enzyme (URE-B1/E3), 20S proteasome ?1 concomitant with reduced expression of ubiquitin activating enzyme (ube1), conjugating enzyme (ube2d2), chromodomain Y like protein (cdyl), bromodomain testis specific protein (brdt), hdac6 (histone deacetylase6), androgen-dependent homeobox placentae embryonic protein (pem/RhoX5), histones h2b and th3 (testis-specific h3). Functional deficits of FSH reduced the expression of cdyl and brdt genes in the testis, affected turnover of ubiquitylated histones, stalled the physiological DNA repair mechanism and culminated in spermiation of DNA damaged sperm. CONCLUSIONS:We aver that deficits of both testosterone and FSH differentially affected the process of sperm chromatin remodelling through subtle changes in the 'chromatin condensation transcriptome and proteome', thereby stalling the replacement of 'dynamic' histones with 'inert' protamines, and altering the epigenetic state of condensed sperm chromatin. The inappropriately condensed chromatin affected the sperm chromatin cytoarchitecture, evident from subtle ultrastructural changes in the nuclei of immature caput epididymal sperm of CPA- or FD-treated rats, incubated in vitro with dithiothreitol.

Dataset Information

Sperm Accumulation Induced by the Female Reproductive Fluid: Putative Evidence of Chemoattraction Using a New Tool.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets