Phospholipid metabolism in boar spermatozoa and role of diacylglycerol species in theDe Novo formation of phosphatidylcholine

Abstract

We have investigated pathways of lipid metabolism in boar spermatozoa sperm cells incubated for up to 3 days with [14C]palmitic acid, [14C]glycerol, [14C]choline, or [14C]arachidonic acid or incorporated these precursors into diglycerides and/or phospholipids. When spermatozoa were incubated with [14C]palmitic acid or [14C]glycerol, there was first an incorporation into phosphatidic acid, followed by labelling of 1,2‐diacylglycerol (DAG) and then phosphatidyl‐choline (PC). This indicates that the de novo pathway of phospholipid synthesis is active in these cells. However, not all DAG was converted to PC. A pool of di‐saturated DAG, which represented a considerable proportion of the high basal levels of DAG, accumulated the majority of label. Another DAG pool, containing saturated fatty acids in position 1 and unsaturated fatty acids in position 2 and representing the remaining basal DAG, was in equilibrium with PC. When spermatozoa were incubated with [14C]arachidonic acid, there was a considerable incorporation of label into PC, which indicates the presence of an active deacylation/reacylation cycle. The behaviour of certain lipid pools varied depending on the temperature at which spermatozoa were incubated. For example, in the presence of [14C]palmitic acid or [14C]arachidonic acid, there was more incorporation of label into PC when spermatozoa were incubated at 25°C than when incubated at 17°C. Taken together, these results indicate that spermatozoa have an active lipid synthetic capacity. It may therefore be possible to design methods to evaluate the metabolic activity of boar spermatozoa based on the incorporation of lipid precursors under standardized conditions. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 47:105–112, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Lipid modification to improve cryotolerance of gametes, embryos and larvae and its potential application in aquaculture species: a review

“…Third, the monomeric transfer and the fusion between the liposome and sperm membrane bilayers were detected by Gadella et al (1999) using 6-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino-caproyl (C6NBD) labeled PLs in boar. The incorporation of exogenous lipids into the sperm has also been confirmed by 14 C-labeled FAs and octadecyl rhodamine B (Neill and Masters, 1972;Vasquez and Roldan, 1997). Therefore, the properties of the sperm membrane can be modified by manipulating exogenous lipids, which could improve sperm cryotolerance.…”

Lipid modification to improve cryotolerance of gametes, embryos and larvae and its potential application in aquaculture species: a review

“…Third, the monomeric transfer and the fusion between the liposome and sperm membrane bilayers were detected by Gadella et al (1999) using 6-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino-caproyl (C6NBD) labeled PLs in boar. The incorporation of exogenous lipids into the sperm has also been confirmed by 14 C-labeled FAs and octadecyl rhodamine B (Neill and Masters, 1972;Vasquez and Roldan, 1997). Therefore, the properties of the sperm membrane can be modified by manipulating exogenous lipids, which could improve sperm cryotolerance.…”

Aquaporin-7-Mediated Glycerol Permeability Is Linked to Human Sperm Motility in Asthenozoospermia and during Sperm Capacitation

“…It is also fair to assume that, as with aquaglyceroporins in the adipose tissue and liver, sperm aquaglyceroporins could also have a role in lipid/fatty acid metabolism. The literature on this subject is still scarce, but glycerol has been found to be used in de novo phospholipid synthesis in bull sperm [32]. The role of lipids and glycerol on sperm bioenergetics is still a topic of discussion.…”

Sperm Lipid Markers of Male Fertility in Mammals

“…The lipid composition of the sperm plasma membrane has been elucidated for several mammalian species such as sheep [23,24], cattle [25][26][27], pig [2,14,28], mouse [29,30], rabbit [31], rat [32], horse [33], human [28], ruminantia (cattle, roe deer and Klipspringer) and feloideae species (domestic cat, Siberian tiger and fosa) [34]. Although there is considerable diversity among different mammalian species, in general, the plasma membrane contains about 70% phospholipids, 25% neutral lipids and 5% glycolipids (on molar base) [35].…”

“…Spermatozoa have a higher proportion of neutral lipids, especially large amounts of diacylglycerol (DAG) [26,33]. Phospholipids are characterized by a large proportion of alkenyl phospholipids (plasmalogens) in choline-and ethanolamine-containing glycerol phosphates, and high proportions of highly unsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic (20:4), docosapentaenoic (22:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) [2,36,37]. Recently, the lipid component (O-acyl)-u-hydroxy-fatty acids (OAHFA) has been identified for the first time in spermatozoa, with a carbon chain length up to 52.…”

Lipid modification to improve cryotolerance of gametes, embryos and larvae and its potential application in aquaculture species: a review

“…Third, the monomeric transfer and the fusion between the liposome and sperm membrane bilayers were detected by Gadella et al (1999) using 6-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino-caproyl (C6NBD) labeled PLs in boar. The incorporation of exogenous lipids into the sperm has also been confirmed by 14 C-labeled FAs and octadecyl rhodamine B (Neill and Masters, 1972;Vasquez and Roldan, 1997). Therefore, the properties of the sperm membrane can be modified by manipulating exogenous lipids, which could improve sperm cryotolerance.…”

Aquaporin-7-Mediated Glycerol Permeability Is Linked to Human Sperm Motility in Asthenozoospermia and during Sperm Capacitation

“…It is also fair to assume that, as with aquaglyceroporins in the adipose tissue and liver, sperm aquaglyceroporins could also have a role in lipid/fatty acid metabolism. The literature on this subject is still scarce, but glycerol has been found to be used in de novo phospholipid synthesis in bull sperm [32]. The role of lipids and glycerol on sperm bioenergetics is still a topic of discussion.…”

Sperm Lipid Markers of Male Fertility in Mammals

“…The lipid composition of the sperm plasma membrane has been elucidated for several mammalian species such as sheep [23,24], cattle [25][26][27], pig [2,14,28], mouse [29,30], rabbit [31], rat [32], horse [33], human [28], ruminantia (cattle, roe deer and Klipspringer) and feloideae species (domestic cat, Siberian tiger and fosa) [34]. Although there is considerable diversity among different mammalian species, in general, the plasma membrane contains about 70% phospholipids, 25% neutral lipids and 5% glycolipids (on molar base) [35].…”

“…Spermatozoa have a higher proportion of neutral lipids, especially large amounts of diacylglycerol (DAG) [26,33]. Phospholipids are characterized by a large proportion of alkenyl phospholipids (plasmalogens) in choline-and ethanolamine-containing glycerol phosphates, and high proportions of highly unsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic (20:4), docosapentaenoic (22:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) [2,36,37]. Recently, the lipid component (O-acyl)-u-hydroxy-fatty acids (OAHFA) has been identified for the first time in spermatozoa, with a carbon chain length up to 52.…”

Lipid modification to improve cryotolerance of gametes, embryos and larvae and its potential application in aquaculture species: a review

“…Third, the monomeric transfer and the fusion between the liposome and sperm membrane bilayers were detected by Gadella et al (1999) using 6-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino-caproyl (C6NBD) labeled PLs in boar. The incorporation of exogenous lipids into the sperm has also been confirmed by 14 C-labeled FAs and octadecyl rhodamine B (Neill and Masters, 1972;Vasquez and Roldan, 1997). Therefore, the properties of the sperm membrane can be modified by manipulating exogenous lipids, which could improve sperm cryotolerance.…”

Aquaporin-7-Mediated Glycerol Permeability Is Linked to Human Sperm Motility in Asthenozoospermia and during Sperm Capacitation

“…It is also fair to assume that, as with aquaglyceroporins in the adipose tissue and liver, sperm aquaglyceroporins could also have a role in lipid/fatty acid metabolism. The literature on this subject is still scarce, but glycerol has been found to be used in de novo phospholipid synthesis in bull sperm [32]. The role of lipids and glycerol on sperm bioenergetics is still a topic of discussion.…”

Sperm Lipid Markers of Male Fertility in Mammals

“…The lipid composition of the sperm plasma membrane has been elucidated for several mammalian species such as sheep [23,24], cattle [25][26][27], pig [2,14,28], mouse [29,30], rabbit [31], rat [32], horse [33], human [28], ruminantia (cattle, roe deer and Klipspringer) and feloideae species (domestic cat, Siberian tiger and fosa) [34]. Although there is considerable diversity among different mammalian species, in general, the plasma membrane contains about 70% phospholipids, 25% neutral lipids and 5% glycolipids (on molar base) [35].…”

“…Spermatozoa have a higher proportion of neutral lipids, especially large amounts of diacylglycerol (DAG) [26,33]. Phospholipids are characterized by a large proportion of alkenyl phospholipids (plasmalogens) in choline-and ethanolamine-containing glycerol phosphates, and high proportions of highly unsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic (20:4), docosapentaenoic (22:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) [2,36,37]. Recently, the lipid component (O-acyl)-u-hydroxy-fatty acids (OAHFA) has been identified for the first time in spermatozoa, with a carbon chain length up to 52.…”