Advancing Semen Evaluation Using Lipidomics

Abstract

Developing a deeper understanding of biological components of sperm is essential to improving cryopreservation techniques and reproductive technologies. To fully ascertain the functional determinants of fertility, lipidomic methods have come to the forefront. Lipidomics is the study of the lipid profile (lipidome) within a cell, tissue, or organism and provides a quantitative analysis of the lipid content in that sample. Sperm cells are composed of various lipids, each with their unique contribution to the overall function of the cell. Lipidomics has already been used to find new and exciting information regarding the fatty acid content of sperm cells from different species. While the applications of lipidomics are rapidly evolving, gaps in the knowledge base remain unresolved. Current limitations of lipidomics studies include the number of available samples to analyze and the total amount of cells within those samples needed to detect changes in the lipid profiles across different subjects. The information obtained through lipidomics research is essential to systems and cellular biology. This review provides a concise analysis of the most recent developments in lipidomic research. This scientific resource is important because these developments can be used to not only combat the reproductive challenges faced when using cryopreserved semen and artificial reproductive technologies in livestock such as cattle, but also other mammals, such as humans or endangered species.

The foundations and development of lipidomics

“…In the last 20 years, development of lipidomics technologies has vastly improved by the following: i ) extensive characterization of the structures of known lipid classes and subclasses and uncovering both new classes and new molecular species of lipids (e.g., ( 4 , 74 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 )); ii ) sensitive quantification of lipid species at attomole to femtomole levels from a variety of biological samples (e.g., ( 132 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 )); iii ) applications for biomedical and biological studies through pathway/network analysis; iv ) biomarker development that facilitates prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis of disease states (see recent reviews for references ( 83 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 )); v ) determining the alterations of lipids in spatial distribution via mapping complex organs by MALDI imaging (see recent reviews for references ( 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 )); and vi ) advances in bioinformatics to facilitate real time data processing (e.g., ( 88 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 )).…”

Changes in oxidative stress and ultrastructure of the sperm of silver barb, Barbonymus gonionotus , related to cryopreservation using a dry shipper

“…The plasma membrane composition of sperm varies from species to species that affects the fluidity and cryoresistance or freezability of sperm (Horokhovatskyi et al, 2017; Martínez‐Páramo et al, 2012). The oxidative stress responses of sperm after cryopreservation may be associated with the lipid component and various antioxidant systems in seminal plasma and spermatozoa (Evans et al, 2021; Giraud et al, 2000; Neild et al, 2005). A previous study reported that the LPO level and the ratio of cholesterol to phospholipids in the sperm membrane of European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax were positively correlated with each other (Martínez‐Páramo et al, 2012).…”

High-coverage targeted lipidomics revealed dramatic lipid compositional changes in asthenozoospermic spermatozoa and inverse correlation of ganglioside GM3 with sperm motility

“…The fatty acid content of sperm cells has been a topic of investigation for several years [ 6 ]. Lipidomics has already been used to elucidate fatty acid groups or classes in spermatozoa from different species [ 22 ].The fatty acids lipidome of seminal fluid varied markedly between thenormozoospermia, oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, asthenozoospermia and varicocoele [ 16 ]. It has been found that the composition of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in sperm is related to its motility, and asthenozoospermic semen samples showed lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and higher levels of saturated fatty acids compared to normozoospermic samples [ 17 ].…”

“…Lipidomics is the study of the entire lipid pool within a cell, tissue, or organism, which provides a quantitative analysis of the lipid profile in that sample [ 21 ]. Lipidomics has already been used to elucidate the fatty acid groups or classes in spermatozoa from different species [ 22 ]. However, quantifying the levels or amounts of lipids has proven to be more difficult than detecting their presence.…”