Institute of Animal Science, Animal Breeding and Husbandry Group, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Anim Reprod Sci. 2011 Oct;128(1-4):11-21. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2011.08.008. Epub 2011 Sep 6.
Male fertility is impaired through the lack of ESR1 (Estrogen Receptor 1) but little is known about the ESR1 roles in boar spermatogenesis and fertility. Therefore, this research was aimed at investigating the association with sperm quality and boar fertility traits in a total of 300 boars both from purebred Pietrain and Pietrain × Hampshire crosses. A SNP in coding region of ESR1g.672C>T in exon 1 was associated with sperm motility (P<0.05) and plasma droplet rate (P<0.01) while the polymorphism in non-coding region of ESR1g.35756T>C in inton 1 was associated with non-return rate (P<0.05). Furthermore, to analyse the mRNA and protein expression of ESR1 in boar reproductive tissues, a total of six boars were divided into two groups [Group I (G-I) and Group II (G-II)], where G-I had relatively better sperm quality. ESR1 expression was higher in tissues collected from G-I boars than those of collected from G-II boars, and the difference in mRNA expression was significant (P<0.01) in head of epididymis. The ESR1 protein expression results from western blot coincided with the results of qRT-PCR. The ESR1 protein localization observed a strong staining in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cell in the testis, in the epithelial cells in head and tail of epididymis, in smooth muscle in tail of epididymis, and in the post acrosomal region and tail of the spermatozoa. These results will improve the understanding of the functions of the ESR1 in spermatogenesis within the reproductive tract and will shed light on ESR1 as a candidate in the selection of boar with good sperm quality and fertility.
雄性生育能力因 ESR1（雌激素受体 1）的缺乏而受损，但对于 ESR1 在公猪精子发生和生育力中的作用知之甚少。因此，本研究旨在调查总共 300 头纯种皮特兰和皮特兰×汉普夏杂交公猪的精子质量和公猪繁殖力性状与 ESR1g.672C>T 单核苷酸多态性（SNP）在编码区的关联，该 SNP 位于外显子 1 中，与精子活力（P<0.05）和血浆滴状率（P<0.01）相关，而 ESR1g.35756T>C 多态性位于内含子 1 中非编码区，与返情率（P<0.05）相关。此外，为了分析 ESR1 在公猪生殖组织中的 mRNA 和蛋白表达，总共将 6 头公猪分为两组[第 I 组（G-I）和第 II 组（G-II）]，其中 G-I 具有相对较好的精子质量。G-I 组公猪组织中的 ESR1 表达高于 G-II 组公猪组织，头部附睾组织中的 mRNA 表达差异显著（P<0.01）。Western blot 结果与 qRT-PCR 结果一致。免疫组织化学结果显示 ESR1 蛋白在睾丸的支持细胞细胞质、头部和尾部附睾的上皮细胞、尾部附睾的平滑肌以及精子的顶体后区和尾部有强烈染色。这些结果将提高对 ESR1 在生殖道精子发生中的功能的理解，并为 ESR1 作为具有良好精子质量和生育力的公猪选择的候选基因提供依据。
