Proteomic landscape of seminal plasma associated with dairy bull fertility

Abstract

Male fertility is the ability of sperm to fertilize the egg and sustain embryo development. Several factors determine the fertilizing capacity of mammalian sperm, including those intrinsic to sperm and components of the seminal plasma. The present study analyzed the seminal fluid proteome of Bos taurus and potential associations between proteins and fertility scores. Mass spectrometry coupled with nano HPLC allowed the identification of 1,159 proteins in the dairy bull seminal plasma. There were 50 and 29 seminal proteins more abundant in high (HF) low fertility (LF) bulls, respectively. Based on multivariate analysis, C-type natriuretic peptide, TIMP-2, BSP5 and sulfhydryl oxidase indicated relationship with HF bulls. Clusterin, tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2, galectin-3-binding protein and 5′-nucleotidase were associated with LF bulls. Abundance of NAD(P)(+)-arginine ADP-ribosyltransferase, prosaposin and transmembrane protein 2 proteins had the highest positive correlations with fertility ranking. Quantities of vitamin D-binding protein, nucleotide exchange factor SIL1 and galectin-3-binding protein showed the highest negative correlations with fertility ranking. A fertility ranking score was calculated and the relationship with these proteins was significant (Spearman’s rho = 0.94). The present findings represent a major and novel contribution to the study of bovine seminal proteins. Indicators of fertility can be used to improve reproductive biotechnologies.

Upregulation of CRISP‐3 and kallikrein in stallion seminal plasma is associated with poor tolerance of cooled storage

“…In our study, less sperm DNA damage during storage was associated with higher levels of TIMP‐2. Similarly, high levels of TIMP‐2 are associated with low levels of sperm DNA fragmentation in men (Belardin et al, ) and high fertility in bulls (McCauley, Zhang, Bellin, & Ax, ; Viana et al, ).…”

Spatiotemporal expression patterns of natriuretic peptides in rat testis and epididymis during postnatal development

“…They also showed that spermatozoa from NPR‐B mutant mice were not attracted by NPPC, preventing fertilisation in vivo. Furthermore, the proteomic analysis showed that NPPC is more abundant in the seminal plasma of high‐fertility bulls than that in low‐fertility bulls (Viana et al, ). In our study, we observed NPPC immunoreactivity in all the epithelial cells of the epididymis and smooth muscle cells.…”

“…Furthermore, Kong et al () reported that NPPC regulates the oocyte attraction of the spermatozoon in the oviduct. In addition, proteomic studies in cattle spermatozoa have shown that NPPC is significantly higher in bulls with high fertility (Viana et al, ). Although many studies are available on the expression of NPs in the testis (Collin Lissbrant, & Bergh, ; El‐Gehani et al, ; Pereira, Costa, Rosa‐e‐Silva, Vieira, & dos Reis, ), data on their expression in the epididymis are scarce.…”

Cross comparison of seminal plasma proteins from cattle and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

“…MMP2 is involved in the remodelling of the sperm membrane during epididymal maturation (Martins et al, ). TIMP‐2 is also a heparin‐binding protein (McCauley et al, ) that interacts with the seminal plasma protein BSP5 and both are described in bulls with higher fertility (Viana et al, ). In our results, we found that TIMP‐2 was upregulated in bovines, which can explain the increased fertility rate in this species compared with buffaloes.…”

“…It is a key factor in spermatogenesis and can stimulate testosterone production in the testicles (Huang et al, ). The protein positively regulates the sperm motility and capacitation (Huang et al, ; Xia et al, ) and is therefore associated with increased sperm quality in cattle (Viana et al, ). In our study, we described for the first time the C‐type natriuretic peptide in buffaloes in which decreased expression of the protein was observed.…”