Germ Cell-Specific Proteins AKAP4 and ASPX Facilitate Identification of Rare Spermatozoa in Non-Obstructive Azoospermia.

ABSTRACT: Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), the most severe form of male infertility, could be treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection, providing spermatozoa were retrieved with the microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE). We hypothesized that testis-specific and germ cell-specific proteins would facilitate flow cytometry-assisted identification of rare spermatozoa in semen cell pellets of NOA patients, thus enabling non-invasive diagnostics prior to mTESE. Data mining, targeted proteomics, and immunofluorescent microscopy identified and verified a panel of highly testis-specific proteins expressed at the continuum of germ cell differentiation. Late germ cell-specific proteins AKAP4_HUMAN and ASPX_HUMAN (ACRV1 gene) revealed exclusive localization in spermatozoa tails and acrosome

SUBMITTER: Zhang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10209038 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature