TRY-5 is a sperm-activating protease in Caenorhabditis elegans seminal fluid.
TRY-5 is a sperm-activating protease in Caenorhabditis elegans seminal fluid.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pgen.1002375
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发表时间：
2011-11
期刊：
影响因子：
4.5
通讯作者：
Stanfield GM
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Smith JR;Stanfield GM
精液蛋白已被证明在男性生殖成功中发挥重要作用，但这种调节的机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。在秀丽线虫中，精子在一个称为精子激活的过程中从未成熟的精子细胞分化为成熟的、活动的精子。对于雄性线虫来说，精子激活发生在两性人受精的过程中，被认为是由精液介导的，但这种活动的分子性质此前尚未确定。在这里，我们展示了Try-5是一种精液蛋白酶，在线虫中是男性介导的精子激活所必需的。我们观察到Try-5：：GFP在雄性体细胞性腺中表达，并在交配过程中与精子一起转移到两性动物身上。在没有Try-5的情况下，男性精液将失去激活两性精子的效力。然而，Try-5对于两性精子或男性生育能力都不是必需的，这表明两性精子通常由一种独特的两性特异激活剂激活，男性精子也有能力对其做出反应。在雄性体内，Try-5：：GFP在精囊中的定位被蛋白酶抑制剂SWM-1拮抗。综上所述，这些数据表明，Try-5是线虫精子的胞外激活剂。Try-5在精液中的存在将精子激活的时间与将精子转移到两性子宫的时间结合在一起，在两性子宫中，必须迅速获得运动能力。我们的结果为线虫如何采用性别特异性的精子运动性调节来适应其两性生殖模式提供了洞察。有性繁殖需要产生高度专业化的配子、卵子和精子，这些配子、卵子和精子必须彼此相遇并融合在一起形成受精卵。男性不仅提供精子，还提供精液，其中包含各种因素，通过影响精子和女性生理来促进男性生育。我们已经确定了一种线虫精液蛋白水解酶Try-5，它调节精子的激活，这是一个未成熟的精子细胞完成分化为能够使卵母细胞受精的活动形式的过程。我们观察到Try-5的释放与精子的转移相一致，结合了交配过程中精子运动转移的开始。尽管Try-5只在男性身上起作用，但男性和两性精子都有能力对其做出反应。Try-5不是生育所必需的，我们建议两性激活剂在没有Try-5的情况下进行补偿。我们的结果揭示了男性和两性如何通过差异调节精子发育来促进两性生育，并确定了精液蛋白的一种新功能。
Seminal fluid proteins have been shown to play important roles in male reproductive success, but the mechanisms for this regulation remain largely unknown. In Caenorhabditis elegans, sperm differentiate from immature spermatids into mature, motile spermatozoa during a process termed sperm activation. For C. elegans males, sperm activation occurs during insemination of the hermaphrodite and is thought to be mediated by seminal fluid, but the molecular nature of this activity has not been previously identified. Here we show that TRY-5 is a seminal fluid protease that is required in C. elegans for male-mediated sperm activation. We observed that TRY-5::GFP is expressed in the male somatic gonad and is transferred along with sperm to hermaphrodites during mating. In the absence of TRY-5, male seminal fluid loses its potency to transactivate hermaphrodite sperm. However, TRY-5 is not required for either hermaphrodite or male fertility, suggesting that hermaphrodite sperm are normally activated by a distinct hermaphrodite-specific activator to which male sperm are also competent to respond. Within males, TRY-5::GFP localization within the seminal vesicle is antagonized by the protease inhibitor SWM-1. Together, these data suggest that TRY-5 functions as an extracellular activator of C. elegans sperm. The presence of TRY-5 within the seminal fluid couples the timing of sperm activation to that of transfer of sperm into the hermaphrodite uterus, where motility must be rapidly acquired. Our results provide insight into how C. elegans has adopted sex-specific regulation of sperm motility to accommodate its male-hermaphrodite mode of reproduction. Sexual reproduction requires the generation of highly specialized gametes, eggs and sperm, that must encounter one another and fuse together to form a zygote. Males provide not only sperm but also seminal fluid, which contains a variety of factors that promote male fertility through effects on sperm and on female physiology. We have identified a C. elegans seminal fluid protease, TRY-5, that regulates sperm activation, the process by which immature spermatids complete their differentiation to a motile form capable of fertilizing an oocyte. We observed release of TRY-5 that coincided with transfer of sperm, coupling the onset of sperm motility to transfer during mating. Although TRY-5 functions only in males, both male and hermaphrodite sperm are capable of responding to it. TRY-5 is not required for fertility, and we propose that a hermaphrodite activator compensates in its absence. Our results reveal how sperm development can be differentially modulated by males and hermaphrodites to promote fertility in each sex, and we identify a novel function for a seminal fluid protein.
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