Abstract
Simple SummaryProton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H-NMR) is of special interest for the analysis of metabolites present in seminal plasma and spermatozoa. This metabolomic approach has been used to identify the presence of new biomarkers or their proportions in a non-invasive manner and is, therefore, an interesting tool for male fertility diagnosis. In this paper, we review current knowledge of the use of 1 H-NMR to examine sperm metabolomics in different species with special attention paid to humans and farm animals. We also describe the use of 1 H-NMR to establish a possible relationship between the mammalian diet and the presence of certain hydrophilic and lipophilic metabolites in spermatozoa.This report reviews current knowledge of sperm metabolomics analysis using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H-NMR) with particular emphasis on human and farm animals. First, we present the benefits of NMR over other techniques to identify sperm metabolites and then describe the specific methodology required for NMR sperm analysis, stressing the importance of analyzing metabolites extracted from both the hydrophilic and lipophilic phases. This is followed by a description of advances produced to date in the use of NMR to diagnose infertility in humans and to identify metabolic differences among the sperm of mammalian herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore species. This last application of NMR mainly seeks to explore the possible use of lipids to fuel sperm physiology, contrary to previous theories that glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) are the only sources of sperm energy. This review describes the use of NMR to identify sperm and seminal plasma metabolites as possible indicators of semen quality, and to examine the metabolites needed to maintain sperm motility, induce their capacitation, and consequently, to predict animal fertility.
Highlights
The field of reproductive biology has recently undergone a series of advances in the form of high-throughput massive molecular tools, collectively known as OMICs, for the analysis of biological samples. This new era of omics consists of the study of genes, mRNA, proteins, epigenetic marks and metabolites [1]
To confirm whether the elevated lactate found in this sperm subpopulation was indicative of altered glycolysis, Calvert and colleagues [11] carried out 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in live human spermatozoa subjected to density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and observed increased levels of glycolysis in this subpopulation
An explanation for this could be the larger cytoplasm these cells have, as this is the cell compartment where glycolysis takes place [52]. Another possibility is that the sperm from the pellet, which shows improved morphology and motility, tightly controls its energy production to limit ROS levels and, avoid DNA damage [53]. These interesting findings correlate the metabolomic profile of spermatozoa to their morphology and/or motility, suggesting that sperm metabolites could be potential biomarkers of male fertility and that NMR could be of great interest for diagnostic purposes
Summary
The field of reproductive biology has recently undergone a series of advances in the form of high-throughput massive molecular tools, collectively known as OMICs, for the analysis of biological samples This new era of omics consists of the study of genes (genomics), mRNA (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics), epigenetic marks (epigenomics) and metabolites (metabolomics) [1]. That over 70% of livestock and poultry are produced by artificial insemination [10], there is a need for non-biased and non-destructive methods of sperm assessment that can be performed earlier in the life of a male In this context, it has been proposed that the metabolites of both sperm and seminal plasma could be biomarkers of infertility in men and in male farm animals [11,12,13]. Knowledge of the sperm metabolic profile is important both to find biomarkers able to predict sperm quality and fertility and to define the specific components of sperm storage, capacitation and fertilization media required by each species
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