Al Khodair Khalid M, Al-Shabebi Abdulkarem, Al-Thnaian Thnaian A, Alturki Osamah I M, Marwa-Babiker A M, Al-Ramadan Saeed Y, Ali Abdelhay M, Elseory Abdelrahman M A
Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Animal Resources, Ministry of Municipality, Doha, Qatar.
Open Vet J. 2025 Mar;15(3):1206-1216. doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2025.v15.i3.12. Epub 2025 Mar 31.
Numerous plant and animal species have β-defensins, antimicrobial peptides involved in immunity and reproduction. Beta-defensin 126 (DEFB126) belongs to the β-defensin family and is a vital component of sperm function. It regulates the capacitation and sperm-egg interaction.
Clarify the expression of DEFB126 in the dromedary camel's sperm and reproductive tract.
The current work used immunohistochemical (IHC) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) methods to clarify the distribution and expression of DEFB126 in the sperm and male reproductive tract (MRT) of dromedary camels in the time of rutting. Samples of fresh and epididymal sperm, testicular, epididymis, ductus deferens, and male accessory gland tissues were obtained from 20 male camels.
The results of IHC showed that the fresh and epididymal sperms had a positive immunoreaction to DEFB126 antibodies. Also, all parts of the testicles, epididymis, vas deferens, prostate, and bulbourethral glands were positively stained to various degrees with a strong immunoreaction in the epididymal's tail. qRT-PCR results showed that expression levels of DEFB126 mRNA varied in the fresh and epididymal sperms and throughout all parts of the MRT; the tail of the epididymis had the most significant expression levels ( < 0.05).
This study's results indicated that DEFB126 protein is expressed in the sperm and MRT of the dromedary camel, with the acrosomal cap of the sperm and the epididymis tail exhibiting the highest levels of expression. These findings imply that DEFB126 could be involved in the reproductive processes of sperm maturation, capacitation, and sperm-zona recognition.
许多动植物物种都有β-防御素，这是一类参与免疫和生殖的抗菌肽。β-防御素126（DEFB126）属于β-防御素家族，是精子功能的重要组成部分。它调节精子获能和精卵相互作用。
阐明DEFB126在单峰骆驼精子和生殖道中的表达情况。
本研究采用免疫组织化学（IHC）和定量实时聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）方法，以阐明发情期单峰骆驼精子和雄性生殖道（MRT）中DEFB126的分布及表达情况。从20头雄性骆驼获取新鲜精子、附睾精子、睾丸、附睾、输精管及雄性附属腺组织样本。
免疫组织化学结果显示，新鲜精子和附睾精子对DEFB126抗体呈阳性免疫反应。此外，睾丸、附睾、输精管、前列腺和尿道球腺的所有部位均有不同程度的阳性染色，附睾尾部免疫反应强烈。qRT-PCR结果显示，DEFB126 mRNA在新鲜精子和附睾精子以及MRT各部位的表达水平有所不同；附睾尾部表达水平最为显著（<0.05）。
本研究结果表明，DEFB126蛋白在单峰骆驼的精子和MRT中表达，精子顶体帽和附睾尾部表达水平最高。这些发现表明，DEFB126可能参与精子成熟、获能及精子-透明带识别的生殖过程。
