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Targeted inactivation of the mouse epididymal beta-defensin 41 alters sperm flagellar beat pattern and zona pellucida binding

Björkgren, Ida ; Alvarez, Luis ; Blank, Nelli ; Balbach, Melanie ; Turunen, Heikki ; Laajala, Teemu Daniel ; Toivanen, Jussi ; Krutskikh, Anton ; Wahlberg, Niklas LU and Huhtaniemi, Ilpo , et al. (2016) In Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 427. p.143-154
Abstract

During epididymal maturation, sperm acquire the ability to swim progressively by interacting with proteins secreted by the epididymal epithelium. Beta-defensin proteins, expressed in the epididymis, continue to regulate sperm motility during capacitation and hyperactivation in the female reproductive tract. We characterized the mouse beta-defensin 41 (DEFB41), by generating a mouse model with iCre recombinase inserted into the first exon of the gene. The homozygous Defb41iCre/iCre knock-in mice lacked Defb41 expression and displayed iCre recombinase activity in the principal cells of the proximal epididymis. Heterozygous Defb41iCre/+ mice can be used to generate epididymis specific conditional knock-out mouse... (More)

During epididymal maturation, sperm acquire the ability to swim progressively by interacting with proteins secreted by the epididymal epithelium. Beta-defensin proteins, expressed in the epididymis, continue to regulate sperm motility during capacitation and hyperactivation in the female reproductive tract. We characterized the mouse beta-defensin 41 (DEFB41), by generating a mouse model with iCre recombinase inserted into the first exon of the gene. The homozygous Defb41iCre/iCre knock-in mice lacked Defb41 expression and displayed iCre recombinase activity in the principal cells of the proximal epididymis. Heterozygous Defb41iCre/+ mice can be used to generate epididymis specific conditional knock-out mouse models. Homozygous Defb41iCre/iCre sperm displayed a defect in sperm motility with the flagella primarily bending in the pro-hook conformation while capacitated wild-type sperm more often displayed the anti-hook conformation. This led to a reduced straight line motility of Defb41iCre/iCre sperm and weaker binding to the oocyte. Thus, DEFB41 is required for proper sperm maturation.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Beta-defensin, Epididymis, Flagellar motility pattern, ICre knock-in, Sperm maturation, Sperm-oocyte binding
in
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
volume
427
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84961226133
  • pmid:26987518
  • wos:000375335500015
ISSN
0303-7207
DOI
10.1016/j.mce.2016.03.013
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
926c17d5-e040-4b0c-b264-44788ebfdec3
date added to LUP
2016-04-27 20:58:19
date last changed
2025-01-12 00:49:39
@article{926c17d5-e040-4b0c-b264-44788ebfdec3,
  abstract     = {{<p>During epididymal maturation, sperm acquire the ability to swim progressively by interacting with proteins secreted by the epididymal epithelium. Beta-defensin proteins, expressed in the epididymis, continue to regulate sperm motility during capacitation and hyperactivation in the female reproductive tract. We characterized the mouse beta-defensin 41 (DEFB41), by generating a mouse model with iCre recombinase inserted into the first exon of the gene. The homozygous Defb41<sup>iCre/iCre</sup> knock-in mice lacked Defb41 expression and displayed iCre recombinase activity in the principal cells of the proximal epididymis. Heterozygous Defb41<sup>iCre/+</sup> mice can be used to generate epididymis specific conditional knock-out mouse models. Homozygous Defb41<sup>iCre/iCre</sup> sperm displayed a defect in sperm motility with the flagella primarily bending in the pro-hook conformation while capacitated wild-type sperm more often displayed the anti-hook conformation. This led to a reduced straight line motility of Defb41<sup>iCre/iCre</sup> sperm and weaker binding to the oocyte. Thus, DEFB41 is required for proper sperm maturation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Björkgren, Ida and Alvarez, Luis and Blank, Nelli and Balbach, Melanie and Turunen, Heikki and Laajala, Teemu Daniel and Toivanen, Jussi and Krutskikh, Anton and Wahlberg, Niklas and Huhtaniemi, Ilpo and Poutanen, Matti and Wachten, Dagmar and Sipilä, Petra}},
  issn         = {{0303-7207}},
  keywords     = {{Beta-defensin; Epididymis; Flagellar motility pattern; ICre knock-in; Sperm maturation; Sperm-oocyte binding}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  pages        = {{143--154}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology}},
  title        = {{Targeted inactivation of the mouse epididymal beta-defensin 41 alters sperm flagellar beat pattern and zona pellucida binding}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2016.03.013}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.mce.2016.03.013}},
  volume       = {{427}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}