title: Asthenozoospermia and membrane remodeling enzymes: a new role for phospholipase A2.
abstract: Phosholipase A2 (PLA2 ) activity in the seminal plasma and in sperm heads is closely related to sperm motility and male fertility. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of different isoforms of phospholipase in asthenozoospermia. To accomplish this, cPLA2 , phospho-cPLA2 , iPLA2 , and sPLA2 were evaluated by immunofluorescence and immunoblot analyses in spermatozoa obtained from 22 normozoospermic men and 28 asthenozoospermic patients. We found significant differences in cPLA2 and its phosphorylated/activated form, iPLA2 , and sPLA2 content and distribution in normal and asthenozoospermic patients. cPLA2 was localized in heads, midpieces, and tails of all spermatozoa as constitutive enzyme, less expressed in the tail of spermatozoa with low progressive motility. While active phospho-cPLA2 distribution was homogeneous throughout the cell body of control-donor spermatozoa, lower levels were detected in the tails of asthenozoospermic patients, as opposed to its strong presence in heads. Low immunofluorescence signal for iPLA2 was found in astenozoospermic patients, whereas sPLA2 was significantly lower in the heads of asthenozoospermic patients. Spermatozoa with low progressive motility showed differences both in terms of total specific activity and of intracellular distribution. cPLA2 , iPLA2 , and sPLA2 specific activities correlated positively and in a significantly manner with sperm progressive motility both in normozoospermic men and asthenozoospermic patients. In conclusion, PLA2 s are expressed in different areas of human spermatozoa. Spermatozoa with low motility showed differences in total specific activity and enzyme distributions. We speculated that PLA2 expression and/or different distribution could be potential biomarkers of asthenozoospermia, one of the major causes of male factor infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Anfuso
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery and Medical-Surgical Specialties, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bellanca
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salmeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Motta
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scalia
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Satriano
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: La Vignera
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Burrello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Caporarello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lupo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Calogero
mesh_terms: D053627:Asthenozoospermia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology*; D005298:Fertility; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D054522:Group VI Phospholipases A2 / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D054497:Phospholipases A2, Secretory / Q000032:analysis*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D054522:Group VI Phospholipases A2; C516475:PLA2G6 protein, human; D054497:Phospholipases A2, Secretory
keywords: asthenozoospermia; calcium-independent PLA2; cytosolic PLA2; male infertility; progressive motility; secretory PLA2; spermatozoa