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The cellular localization and redistribution of multiple aquaporin paralogs in the spermatic duct epithelium of a maturing marine teleost
Author(s) -
Chauvigné François,
Parhi Janmejay,
Ducat Carla,
Ollé Judith,
Finn Roderick Nigel,
Cerdà Joan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1111/joa.12829
Subject(s) - biology , aquaporin , efferent ducts , microbiology and biotechnology , epithelium , duct (anatomy) , epididymis , apical membrane , immunostaining , anatomy , immunohistochemistry , sperm , immunology , botany , genetics
Aquaporin‐mediated fluid transport in the mammalian efferent duct and epididymis is believed to play a role in sperm maturation and concentration. In fish, such as the marine teleost gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata ), the control of fluid homeostasis in the spermatic duct seems also to be crucial for male fertility, but no information exists on the expression and distribution of aquaporins. In this study, reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting analyses, employing available and newly raised paralog‐specific antibodies for seabream aquaporins, indicate that up to nine functional aquaporins, Aqp0a, ‐1aa, ‐1ab, ‐3a, ‐4a, ‐7, ‐8bb, ‐9b and ‐10b, are expressed in the spermatic duct. Immunolocalization of the channels in the resting spermatic duct reveals that Aqp0a, ‐1aa, ‐4a, ‐7 and ‐10b are expressed in the monolayered luminal epithelium, Aqp8b and ‐9b in smooth muscle fibers, and Aqp1ab and ‐3a in different interstitial lamina cells. In the epithelial cells, Aqp0a and ‐1aa are localized in the short apical microvilli, and Aqp4a and ‐10b show apical and basolateral staining, whereas Aqp7 is solely detected in vesicular compartments. Upon spermiation, an elongation of the epithelial cells sterocilia, as well as the folding of the epithelium, is observed. At this stage, single‐ and double‐immunostaining, using two aquaporin paralogs or the Na + /K + ‐ ATP ase membrane marker, indicate that Aqp1ab, ‐3a, ‐7, ‐8bb and ‐9b staining remains unchanged, whereas in epithelial cells Aqp1aa translation is supressed, Aqp4a internalizes, and Aqp0a and ‐10b accumulate in the apical, lateral and basal plasma membrane. These findings uncover a cell type‐ and region‐specific distribution of multiple aquaporins in the piscine spermatic duct, which shares conserved features of the mammalian system. The data therefore suggest that aquaporins may play different roles in the regulation of fluid homeostasis and sperm maturation in the male reproductive tract of fish.