Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 8, No. 5, 434-440,
May 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Embryology |
Proacrosin-deficient mice and zona pellucida modifications in an experimental model of multifactorial infertility
Institute of Human Genetics, University of Göttingen, Heinrich Düker Weg 12, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Abstract
In humans, male and female partners contribute more or less equally to the infertility problem. In 
20% of infertile couples, the concurrence of male and female factors is suggested to be responsible for infertility. Neither of these factors are known nor is there a model system to prove this assumption. We present such a model system in the mouse, in which the lack of acrosin in the male and modifications of the zona pellucida (ZP) in the female result in a significant reduction of the fertilization rate in vitro. We generated mice carrying a deletion in the proline-rich region (PRR) of the proacrosin gene, resulting in the absence of proacrosin in the homozygous PRR–/– male mouse. Under normal conditions, sperm from the proacrosin-deficient mice are still capable of ZP penetration and fertilization. In this study, modifications of the ZP of oocytes after superovulation were achieved by treatment with dimethylsulphoxide or aroclor-1254 or by in-vitro ageing. It is known that under these conditions, a time-dependent hardening of the ZP occurs. The rates of fertilization in vitro of treated and aged oocytes using sperm from PRR–/– mice were found to be significantly reduced when compared with those reached with wild-type sperm. The relevance of the acrosin status and ZP condition for fertilization success were further substantiated by the finding that the fertilization rate with PRR–/– sperm is affected by the thickness of the ZP. Our results demonstrate that the lack of acrosin in sperm in combination with modifications to the ZP can affect fertility and can be an experimental model for the study of unexplained infertility in human couples in which both male- and female-derived factors are suggested to be the underlying causes.
fertilization/infertility/sperm acrosin/zona pellucida
Notes
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wengel{at}gwdg.de
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. Ivell and F. Grutzner Evolution and Male Fertility: Lessons from the Insulin-Like Factor 6 Gene (Insl6) Endocrinology, September 1, 2009; 150(9): 3986 - 3990. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Grzmil, D. Boinska, K. C. Kleene, I. Adham, G. Schluter, M. Kamper, B. Buyandelger, A. Meinhardt, S. Wolf, and W. Engel Prm3, the Fourth Gene in the Mouse Protamine Gene Cluster, Encodes a Conserved Acidic Protein That Affects Sperm Motility Biol Reprod, June 1, 2008; 78(6): 958 - 967. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Nayernia, B. Drabent, I. M. Adham, M. Moschner, S. Wolf, A. Meinhardt, and W. Engel Male Mice Lacking Three Germ Cell Expressed Genes Are Fertile Biol Reprod, December 1, 2003; 69(6): 1973 - 1978. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|