Institute of Biotechnology

Institute of Biotechnology 48 records found  previous11 - 20nextend  jump to record: Search took 0.00 seconds. 
Book of abstract of XXIInd Symposium of immunology and biology of reproduction
Pěknicová, Jana ; Elzeinová, Fatima ; Kubátová, Alena
Book of abstracts. The Symposium was focused on immunology of reproduction and specific problems in reproduction (mainly in human infertility).
Single cell expression analysis of genes with potential mrna gradient in mouse oocytes
Dorosh, Andriy ; Margaryan, Hasmik ; Vodička, Martin ; Ergang, Peter ; Šídová, Monika ; Dvořáková-Hortová, Kateřina
In frogs, there are clearly visible differently pigmented animal and vegetal poles of the egg determined before fertilization and leading to asymmetrical divisions. Mammalian egg does not show any comparable differentiation and it has been generally accepted that even the individual blastomeres in 2-cell and 4-cell embryos are homogenous. However, recent findings suggest that those blastomeres display different gene expression patterns and might already possess some inclinations to specific cell lineages. We therefore raised a question, whether there could be any mRNA or protein gradients in pre-fertilization oocytes similar to a previously described amphibian egg one. In mammalian eggs, there is a membrane region that is poor in microvilli, cortical granules are absent beneath plasma membrane and sperm cells generally do not bind to this location. This microvilli free region also covers the egg nucleus, and cytoskeleton localization differs markedly to the rest of the cortical space, forming actin –myosin II cortical cap/ring and is considered as animal pole. The purpose of this study was to determine gene products that can be detected at single cell level using qPCR and display gradient like distribution in mature oocytes. We checked expression of 12 selected genes in a pool of 10 oocytes and single mature oocytes. Then, we analysed gene expression in fixed intact oocytes and those undergoing laser capture microdissection procedure (LCMD). Eventually, we have determined six candidate genes for the study of intracellular spatial gene expression in mature mammalian oocytes by subcellular qPCR and in situ hybridization.
Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) in testicular cells and sperm
Dostálová, Pavla ; Žatecká, Eva ; Děd, Lukáš ; Dorosh, Andriy ; Postlerová, Pavla ; Jonáková, Věra ; Dvořáková-Hortová, Kateřina ; Pěknicová, Jana
Estrogen is a steroid hormone that plays an important role during sperm development in the male and female reproductive tract. Estrogen signalling is a complex process that depends on cell milieu and presence of receptors. Thanks to the steroid nature of estrogens, they can pass through the plasmatic membrane and bind to the intracellular estrogen receptors (ERs). Within the cell, there are several pools of ERs. One of them is localized to the cell nucleus and their activation leads to direct or indirect binding to DNA and ultimately to alternation in gene expression (genomic pathway). Other pools of ERs are associated with plasma membrane or are located in cytosol. Activation of membrane associated ERs leads to rapid non-genomic responses. Nowadays, two classical estrogen receptors are known – ERα and ERβ. Since ERβ is a predominant variant in testes, we focused our study on expression of ERβ variants in murine testes and sperm. We detected two variants of ERβ at mRNA level in both, testes and sperm. These variants differ in 54 nucleotids within the ligand binding domain and this variability results in different affinity to estrogen. We analyzed individual testicular cell types (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, Sertoli cells) by RT-qPCR. Our results suggest that both ERβ variants are coexpressed in the same cell type and may therefore interact together. This may have consequences in mediating of estrogen signalling. Moreover, ERβ is expressed more in the later stages of spermatogenesis suggesting the role of ERβ in these stages or alternatively in spermatozoa alone. At the protein level, we detected ERβ in nuclear, membrane and cytosolic fraction prepared from testicular tissue suggesting the involvement of both, genomic and non-genomic, pathways of estrogen signaling in testes. In sperm, anti-ERβ antibodies localized ERβ in acrosome region and tail which is in accordance with the known role of estrogen on capacitation, acrosome reaction and motility.
Possible role of spermatogenic protein glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDHS) in mammalian sperm
Margaryan, Hasmik ; Dorosh, Andriy ; Čapková, Jana ; Postlerová, Pavla ; Philimonenko, Anatoly ; Hozák, Pavel ; Pěknicová, Jana
Sperm proteins are important for the structure and function of these specific, highly differentiated cells. Certain of these proteins play a role in sperm-egg recognition during primary or secondary binding at zona pellucida glycoprotein matrix. The aim of this study was to characterize the acrosomal sperm protein recognized by a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) Hs-8, prepared in our laboratory by immunization of BALB/c mice with human ejaculated sperm, and to test the possible role of this protein in gamete interaction. MoAb Hs-8 specifically labelled a 45 kDa protein from the sperm extract in the immunoblotting test. Sequence analysis identified this Hs-8 protein as GAPDHS. In order to perform a control tests, a commercial mouse anti-GAPDHS MoAb was applied. Both antibodies showed similar staining patterns using immunofluorescence labelling, transmission electron microscopy and immunoblot analysis. Moreover, both Hs-8 and commercial anti-GAPDHS antibodies blocked the secondary sperm-zona pellucida binding. Generally, GAPDHS was considered mainly as sperm-specific glycolytic enzyme involved in energy production during spermatogenesis and sperm motility and its role in the sperm head was unknown. In this study, we confirmed the potential additional role of GAPDHS as a binding protein that is involved in the sperm-zona pellucida interaction.
CD46 and β1integrin interaction in mouse sperm head
Šebková, Nataša ; Frolíková, Michaela ; Dvořáková-Hortová, Kateřina
CD46 protein plays an important role during fertilization and its role is associated with acrosome stability. CD46 is probably involved in signalling pathways triggering the acrosome reaction. Integrins interact with many cytoskeletal proteins such as actin, therefore changes in the actin cytoskeleton before and after AR may lead to changes in the association and localization of CD46 and β1integrin. Our aim was to monitor mutual CD46 and β1integrin interaction detected by the proximity ligation assay. It generates a localized signal in a form of spots revealing the exact position of the recognition event. Proteins interaction was study in freshly released sperm and sperm during the acrosome reaction, during which there is a gradual relocation of these proteins towards the equatorial segment and the whole sperm head. Proteins α and β tubulin were used as a positive control, α tubulin and β1 integrin as a negative control. In situ PLA showed a distinct spotted signal indicating the mutual interaction of CD46 and β1integrin. A positive response was demonstrated not only in freshly released sperm but also in sperm during the acrosome reaction. Freshly released sperm were distinctively labelled in the acrosome region and the neck, similarly to the positive control. Sperm during the acrosome reaction showed the signal across the whole sperm head region. No signal or sporadic nonspecific staining was detected in the case of the negative control. In summary, our results deliver new information that proteins CD46 and β1 integrin interact with each other. These results suppose the theory that β1 integrin can mediate a connection between CD46 and sperm cytoskeleton thereby molecules of signalling pathways leading to activation of the acrosome reaction.
Dynamics of mouse sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction
Dvořáková-Hortová, Kateřina ; Frolíková, Michaela ; Děd, Lukáš ; Šebková, Nataša
Capacitation followed by the acrosome reaction (AR), is a very complex event of molecular changes, including acrosome matrix rearrangement and actin polymerization, which mammalian sperm must undergo in the female reproductive tract in order to obtain the ability to penetrate and fertilize the egg. CD46 and β1-integrin belong to specific proteins, which are predicted to interact during molecular reorganization of capacitating sperm. The IZUMO1 as the primary fusion protein of the mammalian sperm is also involved in this dynamic network. We investigated the relationship between the Izumo, CD46 and β1 integrin relocation in the sperm head during the capacitation and AR in vitro. We have already successfully monitored by immunofluorescent labelling the dynamics of proteins CD46 and β1-integrin. The changes in the localization of these proteins associated with the AR and their mutual co-localization was observed. The original β1-integrin location in the freshly released epididymal sperm is in the acrosome and it relocates during the AR further through the sperm head compartments into the equatorial segment and over the whole sperm head. Its density over the equatorial segment is decreasing with the extended time of the AR. Also its presence in the perforatorium of the mouse sperm head is very prominent. The pattern for protein CD46 is extremely similar if not identical in both aspects such as compartment localization and time progress during capacitation and AR in vitro. The molecular interaction of CD46 and β1-integrin was investigated using the Proximity Ligation Assay and Super resolution microscopy STED. The data were statistically analysed. The newly obtained results from CD46 and β1-integrin relocation are in correlation with IZUMO1 dynamics and giving a substantial knowledge on the studied protein network rearrangement during capacitation and AR in mouse spermatozoa.
Fluorescent analysis of the differential protein expression in normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic sperm samples
Děd, Lukáš ; Čapková, Jana ; Kubátová, Alena ; Teplá, O. ; Pěknicová, Jana
Asthenozoospermia is one of the main seminal pathologies underlying male infertility. Previous proteomic studies have demonstrated the significant differences in the protein profiles between normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic sperm samples. Since these studies were primarily focused on the identification of differentially expressed proteins by mass spectrometry, we aimed to evaluate the ability of our diagnostic antibodies to detect the differential expression of selected protein markers by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry techniques. Therefore, we analyzed sperm samples from 30 men with normal and 30 men with astheno spermiograms, average by the panel of our diagnostic anti-human sperm (Hs) antibodies. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry analysis revealed quantitative differences in the protein abundances between normo and astheno sperm samples, namely, in GAPDHs, evaluated with Hs-8 MoAb, VCP, evaluated with Hs-14 MoAb, and ATP synthase, evaluated with MoAb Hs-36. From the methodological point of view, we observed very high correlation between the data obtained by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry techniques and therefore both methods are useful for evaluation of protein differences associated with asthenozoospermia. From the clinical point of view, we observed the strong association of the low sperm motility in the sample with the expression of proteins, playing an important role in sperm energy metabolism (expected), but also with the expression of all tested intra-acrosomal proteins. These findings further demonstrate asthenozoospermia as a complex semen disorder frequently associated with other semen pathologies, which are not diagnosed by basic semen analysis, and the possibility to use monoclonal antibodies as a tool for diagnosis of protein associated sperm pathologies in the semen with the low sperm motility.

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