Elucidation of efficient fertilization mechanism in the female genital tract

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26890004
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Laboratory animal science
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: YAMASHITA MISUZU (山田美鈴) 筑波大学, 研究推進部研究企画課, 助教 (90451690)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 生殖 / 受精 / 応用生物 / 精子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Only acrosome-reacted sperm have the capacity for fertilization. Despite this importance, the mechanism by which acrosome reaction (AR) occurs in female reproducts remains unclear. We thus analyzed AR and sperm-motility in the female genital tract in vivo, using the transgenic mice’s sperm expressing a fluorescent protein. In addition, we also investigated whether artificial AR induction by treatment of calcium ionophore A23187 could promote in vitro fertilization ability of the sperm lacking PRSS21, a GPI-anchored sperm-specific serine protease. We found that A23187 application restored the fusion ability of PRSS21 mutant sperm. Moreover we showed that treatment of vesicles, isolated from the female reproductive organs and perivitelline spaces, which contain phospholipids was also effective to recover impaired fusion ability when PRSS21 is absent. Together, our data suggest the presence of a mechanism to support sperm’s ability for fertilization in the female genital tract.

Free Research Field

生殖