Biotechnology of Animal and Human Reproduction (TechnoSperm), Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology, University of Girona, ES-17003 Girona, Spain; Unit of Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Girona, ES-17003 Girona, Spain.
Department of Animal Selection and Reproduction, The Regional Agri-Food Research and Development Service of Asturias (SERIDA), ES-33394 Gijón, Spain.
Animal. 2022 Sep;16(9):100609. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2022.100609. Epub 2022 Aug 11.
In the dairy breeding industry, pregnancy of dairy cows is essential to initiate milk production, so that high fertility rates are required to increase their productivity. In this regard, sperm proteins that are indicative of sperm quality and/or fertility have become an important target of study. Glutathione S-transferase Mu 3 (GSTM3) has been established as a fertility and sperm quality parameter in humans and pigs and, consequently, it might be a potential biomarker in cattle. For this reason, the present work aimed to determine if GSTM3 could predict sperm quality and in vivo fertility in this species. Sperm quality was assessed with flow cytometry and computer-assisted sperm analysis. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analysis were performed to determine the presence and localisation pattern of sperm GSTM3. This enzyme was found to be present in bovine sperm and to be localised along the sperm tail and the equatorial segment of the head. No significant associations between sperm GSTM3 and sperm quality parameters were observed, except a negative association with morphologically abnormal sperm having a coiled tail. In addition, and more relevant, higher levels of GSTM3 in sperm were seen in bulls showing lower in vivo fertility rates. In conclusion, our data evidenced the presence of GSTM3 in bovine sperm. Moreover, we suggest that, despite not being associated with sperm quality, GSTM3 might be an in vivo subfertility biomarker in cattle sperm, and that high levels of this protein could be an indicative of defective spermatogenesis and/or epididymal maturation.
在奶牛养殖行业中，奶牛的妊娠对于启动产奶至关重要，因此需要高的受孕率来提高其生产力。在这方面，精子蛋白作为精子质量和/或生育力的指标已成为研究的重要目标。谷胱甘肽 S-转移酶 Mu3（GSTM3）已被确立为人类和猪的生育力和精子质量参数，因此可能是牛的潜在生物标志物。出于这个原因，本研究旨在确定 GSTM3 是否可以预测该物种的精子质量和体内生育力。使用流式细胞术和计算机辅助精子分析评估精子质量。进行免疫印迹和免疫荧光分析以确定精子 GSTM3 的存在和定位模式。发现该酶存在于牛精子中，并定位在精子尾部和头部赤道段。除了与具有卷曲尾巴的形态异常精子呈负相关外，未观察到精子 GSTM3 与精子质量参数之间存在显著关联。此外，更相关的是，在体内生育力较低的公牛中观察到精子中 GSTM3 水平较高。总之，我们的数据证明了 GSTM3 存在于牛精子中。此外，我们认为，尽管与精子质量无关，但 GSTM3 可能是牛精子体内亚生育力的生物标志物，并且这种蛋白质的高水平可能表明精子发生和/或附睾成熟存在缺陷。
