Antigen unmasking does not improve the visualization of phospholipase C zeta in human spermatozoa

Phospholipase C zeta(PLCζ)is a sperm-specific protein that triggers oocyte activation.The analysis of PLCζexpression in human spermatozoa can be used as a diagnostic marker for oocyte activation deficiency.Our laboratory has previously optimized a standard"in-house"assay to determine PLCζexpression in human spermatozoa.However,one study has suggested that an antigen unmasking method(AUM)would be more efficient in visualizing PLCζin human sperm.This study aimed to compare our established assay and AUM(involving HCl,acidic Tyrode's solution[AT],and heat).The mean relative fluorescence(RF)intensity of PLCζin frozen-thawed spermatozoa from fourteen fertile donors stained with the in-house method was significantly higher than three other AUM groups(in-house[mean±standard error of mean]:18.87±2.39 arbitrary units[a.u.]vs non-AUM:11.44±1.61 a.u.,AT-AUM:12.38±1.89 a.u.,and HCl-AUM:12.51±2.16 a.u.,P<0.05,one-way analysis of variance).The mean RF intensity of PLCζin AT-and HCl-treated spermatozoa from 12 infertile males was not significantly different from that of the non-AUM group.However,the in-house method resulted in the highest RF intensity(12.11±1.36 a.u.,P<0.01).Furthermore,specificity testing of antibody-antigen binding indicated that the in-house method showed more specific binding than spermatozoa treated by the AUM.In conclusion,our in-house method showed superior visualization and reliability than the AUM,thus supporting the continued use of our in-house assay for clinical research screening.

Advancing male age differentially alters levels and localization patterns of PLCzeta in sperm and testes from different mouse strains

Sperm-specific phospholipase C zeta(PLCζ)initiates intracellular calcium(Ca2+)transients which drive a series of concurrent events collectively termed oocyte activation.Numerous investigations have linked abrogation and absence/reduction of PLCζwith forms of male infertility in humans where oocyte activation fails.However,very few studies have examined potential relationships between PLCζand advancing male age,both of which are increasingly considered to be major effectors of male fertility.Initial efforts in humans may be hindered by inherent PLCζvariability within the human population,alongside a lack of sufficient controllable repeats.Herein,utilizing immunoblotting,immunofluorescence,and quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR)we examined for the first time PLCζprotein levels and localization patterns in sperm,and PLCζmRNA levels within testes,from mice at 8 weeks,12 weeks,24 weeks,and 36 weeks of age,from two separate strains of mice,C57BL/6(B6;inbred)and CD1(outbred).Collectively,advancing male age generally diminished levels and variability of PLCζprotein and mRNA in sperm and testes,respectively,when both strains were examined.Furthermore,advancing male age altered the predominant pattern of PLCζlocalization in mouse sperm,with younger mice exhibiting predominantly post-acrosomal,and older mice exhibiting both post-acrosomal and acrosomal populations of PLCζ.However,the specific pattern of such decline in levels of protein and mRNA was strain-specific.Collectively,our results demonstrate a negative relationship between advancing male age and PLCζlevels and localization patterns,indicating that aging male mice from different strains may serve as useful models to investigate PLCζin cases of male infertility and subfertility in humans.