Abstract
Spermatozoa are highly specialized cells that can be easily obtained and purified. Mature spermatozoa are transcriptionally and translationally inactive and incapable of protein synthesis. In addition, spermatozoa contain relatively higher amounts of membrane proteins compared to other cells; therefore, they are very suitable for proteomic studies. Recently, the application of proteomic approaches such as the two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and differential in-gel electrophoresis has identified several sperm-specific proteins. These findings have provided a further understanding of protein functions involved in different sperm processes as well as of the differentiation of normal state from an abnormal one. In addition, studies on the sperm proteome have demonstrated the importance of spermatozoal posttranslational modifications and their ability to induce physiological changes responsible for fertilization. Large-scale proteomic studies to identify hundreds to thousands of sperm proteins will ultimately result in the development of novel biomarkers that may help to detect fertility, the state of complete contraception, and beyond. Eventually, these protein biomarkers will allow for a better diagnosis of sperm dysfunctions and aid in drug development. This paper reviews the recent scientific publications available from the PubMed database to address sperm proteomics and its potential application to characterize male fertility and contraception.
Highlights
Spermatozoa are highly specialized cells with specific metabolic pathways compartmentalized in different regions
Miescher was able to identify the basic component of salmon spermatozoa called “protamine” that was coupled with nuclein, which was known as DNA afterward
Proteomics represents an extraordinary tool for evaluating the molecular mechanisms regulating sperm function, for shedding light on our understanding of the male fertility/infertility, and for characterizing the state of complete contraception
Summary
Spermatozoa are highly specialized cells with specific metabolic pathways compartmentalized in different regions. Numerous proteomics techniques, including two-dimensional (2D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry (MS), and differential in-gel electrophoresis, are widely used to identify particular sperm-specific proteins These approaches have offered a concise but deep understanding of different functional aspects of sperm proteins, for example, motility, capacitation, acrosomal reaction, fertilization, and posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, proteolytic cleavages, and mutations. Proteomic research has provided a new horizon to study different functional states of spermatozoa, for example, normal versus malformed, immature versus mature, capacitated versus incapacitated, low versus high sperm count, low versus high fertility, and normal/highly fertile versus state of complete contraception [1, 8,9,10], which are all necessary and important to identify a suitable biomarker and to select the desired sire. The present work reviews the latest articles published by other laboratories as well as our research team on the proteomics aspect of spermatozoa and their potential implications to assist fertility or to develop a male contraceptive strategy
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