Sperm ubiquitination in patients with dysplasia of the fibrous sheath

Details

• Personal Author:
  Benmusa A ; Brugo Olmedo S ; Chemes HE ; Rawe VY ; Shiigi SM ; Sutovsky P
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Human sperm with structural abnormalities display an increased content of the cellular proteolytic marker peptide, ubiquitin. We investigated whether dysplasia of the fibrous sheath (DFS), a severe structural anomaly found in the sperm of some asthenozoospermic patients, is accompanied by (i) increased ubiquitination of the sperm surface and (ii) by increased ubiquitination of the sperm mitochondria. METHODS AND RESULTS: Five DFS patients and eight fertile donors were studied by immunocytochemistry with anti-ubiquitin antibodies. Increased cross-reactivity of the ubiquitinated mitochondrial epitopes was seen in 32-50% of DFS sperm, but only 2-4.1% of sperm from fertile donors. Sperm surface ubiquitination assessed by sperm-ubiquitin tag immunoassay (SUTI) and immunofluorescence demonstrated an increased sperm ubiquitination in all DFS patients. The average median value of ubiquitin-induced fluorescence in DFS patients was 25.8 counts (range 19.8-37.9), as opposed to 13.4 counts range (9.3-16.6) in fertile men. Sperm with 'stump tails', coiled tails, twin and triplet sperm, and clusters of immature spermatogenic cells were common. CONCLUSIONS: DFS sperm have increased cross-reactivity to anti-ubiquitin antibodies, a finding consistent with the ubiquitination of defective sperm shown in animal models. These results justify the use of ubiquitin-based assays for objective semen analysis in infertile men with heritable defects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Spermatogenesis Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asthenozoospermia Dysplasia Of The Fibrous Sheath Fertility Male Infertility Reproductive-system Reproductive-system-disorders Spermatozoa Sperm Mitochondria Ubiquitin
• ISSN:
  0268-1161
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038191
• Citation:
  Hum Reprod 2002 Aug; 17(8):2119-2127
• Contact Point Address:
  Peter Sutovsky, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia, S141 ASRC, 920 East Campus Drive Columbia, MO 65211-5300
• Email:
  sutovskyp@missouri.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  Human Reproduction
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af61d4845fa226cb7af1441711e1d6dbdf0cd0d215084808316e35893274cd7e854a2074309f92665bacadbaa5c0715cccf788bea8c67ed6fd04d3175e4864d1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191978/cdc_191978_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.34 MB ]