Department of Physiology, Cytobiology and Proteomics, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Klemensa Janickiego 29, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland.
Department of Histology and Developmental Biology, Pomeranian Medical University, Żołnierska 48, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jan 26;25(3):1567. doi: 10.3390/ijms25031567.
The increasing incidence of male infertility in humans and animals creates the need to search for new factors that significantly affect the course of reproductive processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the temporospatial expression of aquaglyceroporins (AQP3, AQP7 and AQP9) in the bovine () reproductive system using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The study also included morphological analysis and identification of GATA-4. In brief, in immature individuals, AQP3 and AQP7 were found in gonocytes. In reproductive bulls, AQP3 was observed in spermatocytes and spermatogonia, while AQP7 was visible in all germ cells and the Sertoli cells. AQP7 and AQP9 were detected in the Leydig cells. Along the entire epididymis of reproductive bulls, aquaglyceroporins were visible, among others, in basal cells (AQP3 and AQP7), in epididymal sperm (AQP7) and in the stereocilia of the principal cells (AQP9). In males of all ages, aquaglyceroporins were identified in the principal and basal cells of the vas deferens. An increase in the expression of AQP3 in the testis and cauda epididymis and a decrease in the abundance of AQP7 in the vas deferens with age were found. In conclusion, age-related changes in the expression and/or distribution patterns of AQP3, AQP7 and AQP9 indicate the involvement of these proteins in the normal development and course of male reproductive processes in cattle.
男性不育症在人类和动物中的发病率不断上升,这就需要寻找新的因素来显著影响生殖过程。因此,本研究旨在使用免疫组织化学和 Western blot 技术来确定水通道蛋白(AQP3、AQP7 和 AQP9)在牛生殖系统中的时空表达。该研究还包括形态分析和 GATA-4 的鉴定。简而言之,在未成熟个体中,AQP3 和 AQP7 存在于精原细胞中。在有生殖能力的公牛中,AQP3 可见于精母细胞和精原细胞,而 AQP7 可见于所有生殖细胞和支持细胞。AQP7 和 AQP9 存在于间质细胞中。在生殖公牛的整个附睾中,除其他外,在基底细胞(AQP3 和 AQP7)、附睾精子(AQP7)和主细胞的静纤毛中都可以检测到水通道蛋白。在所有年龄段的雄性中,在输精管的主细胞和基底细胞中都可以鉴定出水通道蛋白。研究发现,AQP3 在睾丸和附睾尾部的表达增加,AQP7 在输精管中的丰度随年龄的增长而降低。总之,AQP3、AQP7 和 AQP9 的表达和/或分布模式的年龄相关性变化表明这些蛋白参与了牛雄性生殖过程的正常发育和进程。