Prostasome-like particles in stallion semen.
Abstract: Human semen contains membranous vesicles called prostasomes. They are secreted by the prostate gland and contain large amounts of cholesterol, sphingomyelin, and Ca2+. Prostasomes enhance the motility of ejaculated spermatozoa and are involved in a number of additional biological functions. No prostasome-like vesicles have been described in horse semen up to now. We have demonstrated the presence of prostasome-like vesicles in the equine semen and characterized them as to size, morphology, and lipid composition; we have found that they are similar to human prostasomes in many respects. We propose that these vesicles might be important for the fecundity of horse semen. This is of interest since the success of artificial insemination is limited by the fact that stallion sperm barely survive cryopreservation.
Publication Date: 1998-08-01 PubMed ID: 9687300DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod59.2.309Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research article discusses the discovery of prostasome-like particles in stallion semen, akin to those previously known in human semen, which might boost equine fertility, potentially impacting the success rate of artificial insemination procedures due to improved preservation of sperm health.
Introduction
- Prostasomes are membranous vesicles found in human semen. They are secreted by the prostate gland and contain high amounts of cholesterol, sphingomyelin, and Ca2+. They are crucial for enhancing the movement of ejaculated sperm and contribute to other biological processes.
- Before this study, prostasome-like vesicles were not reported in horse semen.
Findings
- The researchers have identified and characterized prostasome-like vesicles in stallion semen in terms of their size, morphology, and lipid composition.
- The vesicles discovered in equine semen are quite similar to human prostasomes in many ways.
Implications
- Given the functions of these vesicles, the researchers suggest that they might be significant for the fertility of stallion semen.
- This discovery could impact the world of artificial insemination. The process has been limited by the lack of successful cryopreservation of stallion sperm, which these vesicles could potentially improve, thus increasing the success rate of artificial insemination procedures.
Cite This Article
APA
Arienti G, Carlini E, De Cosmo AM, Di Profio P, Palmerini CA.
(1998).
Prostasome-like particles in stallion semen.
Biol Reprod, 59(2), 309-313.
https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod59.2.309 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Istituto di Biochimica e Chimica Medica, Università di Perugia, 06127 Perugia, Italy. arienti@unipg.it
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses / physiology
- Humans
- In Vitro Techniques
- Lipid Metabolism
- Male
- Microscopy, Electron
- Semen / physiology
- Seminal Vesicles / metabolism
- Seminal Vesicles / physiology
- Seminal Vesicles / ultrastructure
- Subcellular Fractions / physiology
- Subcellular Fractions / ultrastructure
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Chauhan V, Kashyap P, Chera JS, Pal A, Patel A, Karanwal S, Badrhan S, Josan F, Solanki S, Bhakat M, Datta TK, Kumar R. Differential abundance of microRNAs in seminal plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) in Sahiwal cattle bull related to male fertility. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024;12:1473825.
- Ding Y, Ding N, Zhang Y, Xie S, Huang M, Ding X, Dong W, Zhang Q, Jiang L. MicroRNA-222 Transferred From Semen Extracellular Vesicles Inhibits Sperm Apoptosis by Targeting BCL2L11. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021;9:736864.
- Giovannelli P, Di Donato M, Galasso G, Monaco A, Licitra F, Perillo B, Migliaccio A, Castoria G. Communication between cells: exosomes as a delivery system in prostate cancer. Cell Commun Signal 2021 Nov 12;19(1):110.
- Gervasi MG, Soler AJ, González-Fernández L, Alves MG, Oliveira PF, Martín-Hidalgo D. Extracellular Vesicles, the Road toward the Improvement of ART Outcomes. Animals (Basel) 2020 Nov 21;10(11).
- Barranco I, Padilla L, Parrilla I, Álvarez-Barrientos A, Pérez-Patiño C, Peña FJ, Martínez EA, Rodriguez-Martínez H, Roca J. Extracellular vesicles isolated from porcine seminal plasma exhibit different tetraspanin expression profiles. Sci Rep 2019 Aug 9;9(1):11584.
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- Fereshteh Z, Bathala P, Galileo DS, Martin-DeLeon PA. Detection of extracellular vesicles in the mouse vaginal fluid: Their delivery of sperm proteins that stimulate capacitation and modulate fertility. J Cell Physiol 2019 Aug;234(8):12745-12756.
- Carossino M, Dini P, Kalbfleisch TS, Loynachan AT, Canisso IF, Shuck KM, Timoney PJ, Cook RF, Balasuriya UBR. Downregulation of MicroRNA eca-mir-128 in Seminal Exosomes and Enhanced Expression of CXCL16 in the Stallion Reproductive Tract Are Associated with Long-Term Persistence of Equine Arteritis Virus. J Virol 2018 May 1;92(9).
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- Chen YW, Lee MS, Lucht A, Chou FP, Huang W, Havighurst TC, Kim K, Wang JK, Antalis TM, Johnson MD, Lin CY. TMPRSS2, a serine protease expressed in the prostate on the apical surface of luminal epithelial cells and released into semen in prostasomes, is misregulated in prostate cancer cells. Am J Pathol 2010 Jun;176(6):2986-96.
- Mourvaki E, Cardinali R, Dal Bosco A, Castellini C. In vitro antioxidant activity of the prostatic secretory granules in rabbit semen after exposure to organic peroxides. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2010 Feb 23;8:16.
- Siciliano L, Marcianò V, Carpino A. Prostasome-like vesicles stimulate acrosome reaction of pig spermatozoa. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2008 Jan 30;6:5.
- Arienti G, Carlini E, Saccardi C, Palmerini CA. Role of human prostasomes in the activation of spermatozoa. J Cell Mol Med 2004 Jan-Mar;8(1):77-84.
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