title: Seminal vesicle protein SVS2 is required for sperm survival in the uterus.
abstract: In mammals, sperm migrate through the female reproductive tract to reach the egg; however, our understanding of this journey is highly limited. To shed light on this process, we focused on defining the functions of seminal vesicle secretion 2 (SVS2). SVS2(-/-) male mice produced sperm but were severely subfertile, and formation of a copulatory plug to cover the female genital opening did not occur. Surprisingly, even when artificial insemination was performed with silicon as a substitute for the plug, sperm fertility in the absence of SVS2 remained severely reduced because the sperm were already dead in the uterus. Thus, our results provide evidence that the uterus induces sperm cell death and that SVS2 protects sperm from uterine attack.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
authors.forename: Natsuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hibino
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohnami
authors.forename: Maako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: Seiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanai
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasuwa
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyado
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Umezawa
mesh_terms: D020101:Acrosome Reaction / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D029607:Seminal Vesicle Secretory Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014599:Uterus / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; C520624:SVS2 protein, mouse; D029607:Seminal Vesicle Secretory Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C004692:coomassie Brilliant Blue
keywords: acrosomal reaction; decapacitation; in vivo fertilization; uterine sperm selection; uterine spermicide