Mechanism of sperm polymorphism by super-resolution imaging

Research Project

Project/Area Number	18K05547
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 38060:Applied molecular and cellular biology-related
Research Institution	University of Tsukuba
Principal Investigator	Kanemori Yoshinori 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 助教 (40529088)
Project Period (FY)	2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000) Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000) Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Keywords	精子 / 先体 / 受精 / ゲノム編集 / 超解像イメージング / マウス / Crispr/Cas9 / 超解像顕微鏡 / 精子形成 / アクチン
Outline of Final Research Achievements	In mammals, polymorphized sperm whose head is deformed into multiple types due to genetic mutation or environmental stress may be produced. Recently, the acrosomal protein ACRBP has been proposed to be involved in sperm polymorphization. In this research project, we focused on ACRBP and aimed to clarify the mechanism of sperm polymorphization. Super-resolution imaging analysis revealed that a ring-shaped structure in the acrosomal granules contributes to sperm polymorphization. We attempted to identify polymorphic sequences within ACRBP using genome editing technology. It was suggested that the repetitive domains of glutamic acid (E) and glutamine (Q) with the characteristics are not involved in polymorphization.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	正常精子と形態が異なる多形化精子は、卵子との受精率が著しく低いため、不妊治療の現場で大きな障害となっている。したがって、精子多形化の原因究明―関連遺伝子の同定やそのタンパク質の生理機能の解明―は、単に基礎的な学術知見の集積だけでなく、不妊精子の選別など畜産や医療分野への応用研究につながると考えられている。