Aberrant protamination in sperm correlates to anomalous nuclear and cytoplasmic architectures in infertile males with sperm dysmorphology  

作　　者：Huan Jiang Chu-Jie Huang 

机构地区：[1]Department of Reproductive Endocrinology,Longgang District Maternity&Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City(Longgang Maternity and Child Institute of Shantou University Medical College),Shenzhen 518172,China [2]Institute of Reproductive Immunology,College of Life Science and Technology,Jinan University,Guangzhou 510632,China

出　　处：《Asian Journal of Andrology》2024年第2期183-188,共6页亚洲男性学杂志（英文版）

摘　　要：Aberrant sperm protamination is linked to sperm dysmorphology and nuclear chromatin condensation.Yet,its effects on sperm cytoplasmic maturation remain largely unexplored.The relationships of protamines,sperm morphology,DNA damage,and cytoplasmic remodeling were illustrated in this study to provide fresh perspectives on the mechanisms of male infertility.A total of 205 infertile males were allocated into 5 groups according to the percentage of spermatozoa exhibiting abnormal morphology within their samples.Sperm concentration,motility,abnormal sperm morphology,cytoplasmic droplets(CDs),and excess residual cytoplasm(ERC)were analyzed according to the World Health Organization manual(2010).Sperm nuclear vacuoles(NVs)were determined by propidium iodide(PI)staining.Sperm protamine expressions(P1 and P2)were detected by western blot.DNA damage was measured by acridine orange test(AOT)to calculate the proportion of sperm with single-strand DNA breaks(SSBs).Our data showed that sperm concentration and motility in infertile males significantly decreased with the severity of abnormal sperm morphology(both P<0.01).P1 level,P1/P2 ratio,and SSB rate increased with the severity of sperm dysmorphology,whilst the P2 level decreased(all P<O.01).NVs,CDs,and ERC were more common in males with sperm dysmorphology and positively correlated with the SSB rate(all P<O.01).The relationships between the SSB rate and the P1/P2 ratio were also significant(P<0.01).Aberrant protamination may cause sperm dysmorphology and compromise male fertility by impairing sperm's nucleus and cytoplasm maturation,with the P1/P2 ratio potentially serving as a valuable indicator of sperm quality and male fertility.

关 键 词：abnormal sperm morphology excess residual cytoplasm male infertility protamines sperm DNA damage sperm nuclear vacuoles 

分 类 号：R698.2[医药卫生—泌尿科学]