Project description:Total RNAs were extracted from the purified cauda epididymal spermatozoa of mouse (C57BL/6, 2 months old) and rats (Sprague Dawley, 450g young adult), and the 18 - 45 nt fraction small RNAs were subjected to library construction and deep sequencing, using Illumina GAIIx.
Project description:Total RNAs were extracted from the purified caput epididymal spermatozoa of mouse (C57BL/6, 2 months old) and rats (Sprague Dawley, 450g young adult), and the 18 - 45 nt fraction small RNAs were subjected to library construction and deep sequencing, using Illumina HiSeq 2000.
Project description:Total RNAs were extracted from the Testis and Epididymal Caput, Corpus and Cauda tissues of 2-month and 13-month-old WT and Gpx5 KO mice (C57BL/6). The 18 - 40 nt fraction small RNAs and transcriptomes were subjected to library construction and deep sequencing, using Illumina GAIIx or Hiseq 2000.
Project description:Cryopreservation induces differential remodeling of the proteome in mammalian spermatozoa. How these proteome changes relate with the loss of sperm function during cryopreservation remains unsolved. The present study attempted to clarify this issue evaluating differential changes in the proteome of pig spermatozoa retrieved from the cauda epididymis and the ejaculate, with clear differences in cryotolerance, comparing fresh and frozen-thawed cells. Sperm samples were collected from 10 healthy, sexually mature and fertile boars, and cryopreserved using a standard 0.5 mL straw protocol. Total and progressive motility, viability and mitochondria membrane potential were higher and membrane fluidity and reactive oxygen species generation lower in frozen-thawed (FT) cauda epididymal than ejaculated spermatozoa. Quantitative proteomics of fresh and FT sperm samples were analyzed using a LC-ESI-MS/MS-based SWATH approach. Cryopreservation quantitatively altered more proteins in ejaculated than cauda epididymal spermatozoa. Differential protein-protein networks highlighted a set of proteins directly involved in mitochondrial functionality among those quantitatively altered in ejaculated spermatozoa, which would explain the worse post-thaw quality of ejaculated pig spermatozoa.
Project description:Sperm small RNAs have emerged as important non-genetic contributors to embryogenesis and offspring health. A subset of sperm small RNAs are thought to be acquired during epididymal transit. However, the transfer of RNAs from the somatic epididymis to the sperm has been questioned, and the identity of the specific small RNAs transferred remains unclear. Here, we employ Cre/Lox genetics to generate germline- and epididymal-specific Dgcr8 conditional knockout mice to investigate the dynamics of sperm microRNAs and their function in the early embryo. Interestingly, sperm from germline specific Dgcr8 knockout males restored the levels of 58 of the 98 (59%) miRNAs that were lost in testicular sperm during epididymal transit. Conversely, sperm from epididymal Dgcr8 knockouts displayed a 5-fold reduction in 25 miRNAs. This substantial loss of epididymal miRNAs in sperm was accompanied by transcriptomic changes in the embryo which was rescued by microinjection of epididymal miRNAs. These findings ultimately demonstrate the acquisition of miRNAs by sperm during epididymal transit and their regulation of post-fertilization embryonic gene expression.
Project description:Following their production in the testis, spermatozoa enter the epididymis to gain their motility and fertilizing abilities. This post-testicular maturation coincides with sperm epigenetic profile changes that influence the progeny outcome. While recent studies underscored the dynamics of small non-coding RNAs in the maturing spermatozoa, little is known regarding sperm methylation changes and their impact at the post-fertilization level. To map out the sperm methylome dynamics, we purified spermatozoa by FACS from the testis and the different epididymal segments (i.e. caput, corpus and cauda) of CAG/su9-DsRed2; Acr3-EGFP transgenic mice. Reduced-Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS-Seq) performed on DNA from these respective sperm populations indicated that high methylation changes were observed between spermatozoa from the caput vs. testis with 5546 entries meeting our threshold values (q value < 0.01, methylation difference above 25 %). Most of these changes were transitory during epididymal sperm maturation according to the low number of entries identified between spermatozoa from cauda vs. testis.
Project description:In this study, we conducted a comprehensive quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of mouse epididymal sperm from different regions (caput, corpus, and cauda) to unveil the dynamics of protein phosphorylation during sperm maturation. And we performed phosphoproteomic analysis of ALK inhibitor 2 compound 18-treated and control sperm to gain further insights into the potential mechanisms by which TSSK2 regulates sperm motility.
Project description:The small RNA payload of mammalian sperm undergoes dramatic remodeling during development, as several waves of microRNAs and tRNA fragments are shipped to sperm during post-testicular maturation in the epididymis. Here, we take advantage of this developmental process to probe the function of the sperm RNA payload in preimplantation development. We generated zygotes via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using sperm obtained from the proximal (caput) vs. distal (cauda) epididymis, then characterized development of the resulting embryos. Embryos generated using caput sperm significantly overexpress multiple regulatory factors throughout preimplantation development, and subsequently implant inefficiently and fail soon after implantation. Remarkably, microinjection of purified cauda-specific small RNAs into caput-derived embryos not only completely rescued preimplantation molecular defects, but also suppressed the postimplantation embryonic lethality phenotype. These findings reveal an essential role for small RNA remodeling during post-testicular maturation of mammalian sperm, and identify a specific preimplantation gene expression program responsive to sperm-delivered microRNAs.
Project description:The proteome of two sperm sources, epididymal and ejaculated sperm, was compared and associated with sperm freezing capacity using samples collected from three wild small ruminants species. Protein identification was performed using two databases separately (Ovis aries and Capra hircus NCBI) and results were later combined.