Project description:Human TEX101 is a testis-specific cell membrane protein expressed exclusively in male germ cells and a validated biomarker of male infertility. TEX101 was suggested to function as a cell surface chaperone of numerous proteins involved in sperm migration and sperm-egg interaction. However, the precise functional roles of human TEX101 in spermatogenesis and fertilization are unknown. Here, we show that a common homozygous variant rs35033974 of TEX101 (G99V) with ~1% frequency in the general population may be associated with idiopathic male infertility. Spermatozoa from patients with homozygous rs35033974 exhibited near-complete degradation of variant G99V TEX101 protein and concomitant degradation of its interactome, as revealed by proteomic measurements. Substantially reduced levels of numerous testis-specific membrane proteins involved in sperm migration and sperm-oocyte fusion (including LY6K, IZUMO3 and ADAM29) were confirmed in spermatozoa of men with homozygous G99V variant. These men were previously diagnosed with idiopathic male infertility or oligospermia and failed the treatment by intrauterine insemination. Collectively, these data may facilitate diagnostics of idiopathic male infertility, provides a rational for selection of male infertility treatments and validate TEX101 and its interactome as targets to develop non-hormonal male contraceptives.
Project description:We examine how NGS sequencing of sperm can provide a window as to how particular perturbations of the sperm RNA profile from baseline may be indicative of male factor infertility, and may thus provide direction as to proper course of infertility treatment for couple. NGS RNA-seq of 72 sperm samples from male partner of couples undergoing fertility treatment
Project description:Infertility is a widespread health problem, with rising incidence worldwide. Whether the infertility is caused by genetic or environmental factors, the reason for inability to reproduce can be the too low number of sperm or morphological or functional abnormality of the sperm. Therefore there can be a certain possibility that divergent causes would converge in common mechanisms impairing sperm functionality. A key step in the control of the cell phenotype is the regulation of gene expression. Therefore, the sperm transcriptome can reflect the impairment of proper regulatory networks acting during spermatogenesis and later, during sperm maturation. Also, it can be speculated that some sperm RNAs can influence the fitness of the early embryo, despite the small amount of sperm RNA. Although the changes in transcriptome are not always reflected by similar changes in the proteome, a relative ease of transcriptome interrogation makes it an excellent tool for hypothesis generation about infertility mechanisms and for a search for potential infertility biomarkers.
Project description:Male factor infertility is increasing and recognized as playing a key role in reproductive health and disease. The current primary diagnostic approach is to assess sperm quality associated with reduced sperm number and motility, which has been historically of limited success in separating fertile from infertile males. The current study was designed to develop a molecular analysis to identify male infertility using genome wide alterations in sperm DNA methylation. A signature of differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs) was identified to be associated with male infertility patients. A promising therapeutic treatment of male infertility is the use of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) analogs which improved sperm numbers and motility in a sub-population of infertility patients. The current study also identified genome-wide DMRs that were associated with the patients that were responsive to FSH therapy versus those that were non-responsive.
Project description:We examine how NGS sequencing of sperm can provide a window as to how particular perturbations of the sperm RNA profile from baseline may be indicative of male factor infertility, and may thus provide direction as to proper course of infertility treatment for couple.
Project description:Infertility is one of the most common reproductive health disorders affecting 16% of couples in the U.S. Most concerning are the new meta-analysis data showing that sperm counts among men in developed countries have declined over 50% in the past four decades. With no sign of reversing this downward trajectory, we may not only be facing a fertility crisis, but low sperm count also has wider public health implications, including increased risks in morbidity and mortality. Given this dramatic decrease in sperm quality over a short period, genetic influences are likely not attributable, but rather, environmental factors encountered over the life-course. The objective of this pilot project is to determine the feasibility of generating metabolomic data from human seminal plasma collected as part of the ongoing SEEDS cohort.
Project description:Infertility is a widespread problem, affecting around 15% of couples worldwide, and is defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy within one year despite unprotected intercourse 1. Infertility can be caused by either male or female reproductive issues. Various medical conditions including malignancies, infections, urogenital conditions, or genetic causes can contribute to male infertility. However, 30-40% of men in their reproductive age are affected by idiopathic infertility, according to the guidelines of European Association of Urology (EAU) 1. Towards a better understanding of male infertility, it is mandatory to achieve a comprehensive understanding of involved genes, their RNA transcripts, and regulatory factors, including miRNAs, which influence the expression level of proteins. Therefore, such proteins need to be identified to investigate their role in spermatogenesis and male infertility. Although there are numerous studies on RNAs, including miRNAs related to male infertility 2-9, there are few studies aiming to cover the whole proteome of human sperm 10. The sperm transcriptome comprises a total of 60,505 transcripts including 11,688 differentially expressed transcripts in infertile and fertile men, as reported by Joshi et al. (2022)11. The entire sperm proteome encompasses 6871 proteins, as summarized by Castillo et al. (2018)10. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of high-throughput studies aiming to identify dysregulated proteins in sperm from subfertile men. Only few studies focused on comparisons of the sperm proteome in men with asthenozoospermia and there is virtually no proteomic studies of oligoasthenozoospermic men 12. Some identified proteins in sperm have functions in maintaining sperm motility and enabling fertilization and are involved in structural composition and/or energy metabolism 12-14 and others are not yet functionally characterized. In this study, we employed Mass spectrometry (MS) technology that is still rarely used in the field of human reproductive research to investigate the proteomic landscape of human sperm and their differential expression patterns in men with subfertility.
Project description:The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive assessment of protamine isoforms and modifications in human sperm with the aim of identifying how protamine modifications/isoforms are altered in men with reduced sperm motility and low sperm count. Sperm samples from 18 men with prior reported pregnancy and normozoospermia 14 men from couples with infertility and asthenozoospermia and 24 men from couples with infertility and oligoasthenoteratozoospermia were included in the study. Proteomic assessment using both top-down and bottom-up LC-MS was performed.
Project description:Male infertility is widespread and estimated to affect 1 in 20 men. Whilst in some cases the aetiology of the condition is well understood, for at least 50% of men, the underlying cause is yet to be classified. The majority of infertile men produce enough spermatozoa, however it is a combination of poor sperm motility, associated with a modified cell morphology that contribute to infertility. One of the major limitations of using morphology to inform male fertility status is that the evaluation is highly subjective, due to the fact that it has to be done by microscopic examination. As such, biomarkers of male infertility are needed to help establish a more consistent diagnosis. In the present study, we compared nuclear extracts from both high- and low-quality spermatozoa by LC-MS/MS based proteomic analysis. Our data shows that nuclear retention of proteins is a common facet amongst low quality male reproductive cells. In particular, we demonstrate that the presence of Topoisomerase 2A in sperm heads, is highly correlated to poor head morphology. Topoisomerase A is therefore a potential new biomarker for confirming male infertility in clinical practice.
Project description:Human TEX101 is a testis-specific cell membrane protein expressed exclusively in male germ cells and a validated biomarker of male infertility. TEX101 was suggested to function as a cell surface chaperone of numerous proteins involved in sperm migration and sperm-egg interaction. However, the precise functional roles of human TEX101 in spermatogenesis and fertilization are unknown. Here, we show that a common homozygous variant rs35033974 of TEX101 (G99V) with ~1% frequency in the general population may be associated with idiopathic male infertility. Spermatozoa from patients with homozygous rs35033974 exhibited near-complete degradation of variant G99V TEX101 protein and concomitant degradation of its interactome, as revealed by proteomic measurements. Substantially reduced levels of numerous testis-specific membrane proteins involved in sperm migration and sperm-oocyte fusion (including LY6K, IZUMO3 and ADAM29) were confirmed in spermatozoa of men with homozygous G99V variant. These men were previously diagnosed with idiopathic male infertility or oligospermia and failed the treatment by intrauterine insemination. Collectively, these data may facilitate diagnostics of idiopathic male infertility, provides a rational for selection of male infertility treatments and validate TEX101 and its interactome as targets to develop non-hormonal male contraceptives.