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Proper cytoskeleton α‐tubulin distribution is concomitant to tyrosine phosphorylation during in vitro capacitation and acrosomal reaction in human spermatozoa
Author(s) -
SáezEspinosa Paula,
FerrándezRives Mariola,
HuertaRetamal Natalia,
RoblesGómez Laura,
Aizpurua Jon,
Romero Alejandro,
GómezTorres María José
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
cytoskeleton
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1949-3592
pISSN - 1949-3584
DOI - 10.1002/cm.21631
Subject(s) - capacitation , biology , tyrosine phosphorylation , tyrosine , acrosome reaction , tubulin , phosphorylation , microbiology and biotechnology , motility , microtubule , flagellum , protein phosphorylation , acrosome , biochemistry , sperm , in vitro , protein kinase a , genetics , gene
Spermatozoa motility is a key parameter during the fertilization process. In this context, spermatozoa tyrosine protein phosphorylation and an appropriate cytoskeleton α‐tubulin distribution are some of the most important physiological events involved in motility. However, the relationship between these two biomarkers remains poorly defined. Here, we characterized simultaneously by immunocytochemistry the α‐tubulin (TUBA4A) distribution and the tyrosine phosphorylation at flagellum before capacitation, during different capacitation times (1 and 4 hr), and after acrosome reaction induction in human spermatozoa. We found that the absence of spermatozoa phosphorylation in tyrosine residues positively and significantly correlated ( p < 0.05) with the terminal piece α‐tubulin flagellar distribution in all physiological conditions. Conversely, we observed a positive significant correlation ( p < 0.01) between phosphorylated spermatozoa and continuous α‐tubulin distribution in spermatozoa flagellum, independently of the physiological condition. Similarly, the subpopulation of spermatozoa with tyrosine phosphorylated and continuous α‐tubulin increases with longer capacitation times and after the acrosome reaction induction. Overall, these findings provide novel insights into the post‐transcriptional physiological events associated to α‐tubulin and the tyrosine phosphorylation during fertilization, which present potential implications for the improvement of spermatozoa selection methods.