Protamine-2 Deficiency Initiates a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-Mediated Destruction Cascade during Epididymal Sperm Maturation in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Protamines are the safeguards of the paternal sperm genome. They replace most of the histones during spermiogenesis, resulting in DNA hypercondensation, thereby protecting its genome from environmental noxa. Impaired protamination has been linked to male infertility in mice and humans in many studies. Apart from impaired DNA integrity, protamine-deficient human and murine sperm show multiple secondary effects, including decreased motility and aberrant head morphology. In this study, we use a Protamine-2 (Prm2)-deficient mouse model in combination with label-free quantitative proteomics to decipher the underlying molecular processes of these effects. We show that loss of the sperm's antioxidant capacity, indicated by downregulation of key proteins like Superoxide dismutase typ

SUBMITTER: Schneider S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7463811 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature