Alteration of sperm protein profile induced by cigarette smoking

Abstract

Cigarette smoking is associated with lower semen quality, but how cigarette smoking changes the semen quality remains unclear. The aim of this study was to screen the differentially expressed proteins in the sperm of mice with daily exposure to cigarette smoke. The 2D gel electrophoresis (2DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) analyses results showed that the mouse sperm protein profile was altered by cigarette smoking. And 22 of the most abundant proteins that correspond to differentially expressed spots in 2DE gels of the sperm samples were identified. These proteins were classified into different groups based on their functions, such as energy metabolism, reproduction, and structural molecules. Furthermore, the 2DE and MS results of five proteins (Aldoa, ATP5a1, Gpx4, Cs, and Spatc1) were validated by western blot analysis and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Results showed that except Spatc1 the other four proteins showed statistically significant different protein levels between the smoking group and the control group (P < 0.05). The expressions of three genes (Aldoa, Gpx4, and Spatc1) were significantly different (P < 0.05) at transcription level between the smoking group and the control group. In addition, five proteins (Aldoa, ATP5a1, Spatc1, Cs, and Gpx4) in human sperm samples from 30 male smokers and 30 non-smokers were detected by western blot analysis. Two proteins (Aldoa and Cs) that are associated with energy production were found to be significantly altered, suggesting that these proteins may be potential diagnostic markers for evaluation of smoking risk in sperm. Further study of these proteins may provide insight into the pathogenic mechanisms underlying infertility in smoking persons.

A quantitative global proteomics approach to understanding the functional pathways dysregulated in the spermatozoa of asthenozoospermic testicular cancer patients

“…Lowered expression of ATP5A1 reduces the ATP supply and leads to energy deprivation and affects the sperm motility. ATP5A1 was reported to be overexpressed in the high‐motility spermatozoa (Huang et al ., ) and underexpressed in reduced sperm motility (Chen et al ., ). In the current study, the downregulation of ATP5A1 reported by the proteomic analysis was validated by WB.…”

Tobacco smoking and semen quality in infertile males: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Other possible mechanisms might be related to the negative impact of smoking on the 8 nAChR subunits found in human spermatozoa, resulting in smoking-related sperm damage [35]. In addition, different proteins (Aldoa, ATP5a1, Gpx4, Cs) expressed in sperms were significantly altered in smokers [36]. Cigarette smoking was found to also affect Ca 2+ - ATPase activity of the spermatozoa as well [37].…”

Towards the identification of reliable sperm biomarkers for male infertility: A sperm proteomic approach

“…It has been hypothesised that the sperm protein profile in infertile men is altered, and some researchers have assessed these profiles in several male infertility conditions including varicocele (Agarwal, Sharma, Samanta, Durairajanayagam, & Sabanegh, ; Agarwal, Sharma, Durairajanayagam, Ayaz, et al., ; Agarwal, Sharma, Durairajanayagam, et al., ; Hosseinifar et al., ), obesity (Kriegel et al., ; Liu et al., ), smoking (Chen et al., ), failed fertilisation after assisted reproduction techniques (ART; Frapsauce et al., ; Legare et al., ; Pixton et al., ), asthenozoospermia (Amaral et al., ; Hashemitabar, Sabbagh, Orazizadeh, Ghadiri, & Bahmanzadeh, ; Liu et al., ; Martinez‐Heredia, de Mateo, Vidal‐Taboada, Ballesca, & Oliva, ; Parte et al., ; Shen, Wang, Liang, & He, ; Siva et al., ; Zhao et al., ) and idiopathic infertility (Legare et al., ; McReynolds et al., ; Xu et al., ). Sperm protein profiles have also been evaluated in men with semen oxidative stress (Ayaz et al., ; Sharma et al., ) and sperm DNA fragmentation (Intasqui et al., ; de Mateo et al., ), which are common causes of male infertility.…”