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Chicken seminal fluid lacks CD9‐ and CD44‐bearing extracellular vesicles
Author(s) -
AlvarezRodriguez Manuel,
Ntzouni Maria,
Wright Dominic,
Khan Kabirul Islam,
LópezBéjar Manel,
Martinez Cristina A.,
RodriguezMartinez Heriberto
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.13617
Subject(s) - extracellular vesicles , bearing (navigation) , extracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , vesicle , chemistry , biology , membrane , biochemistry , computer science , artificial intelligence
The avian seminal fluid (SF) is a protein‐rich fluid, derived from the testis, the rudimentary epididymis and, finally, from the cloacal gland. The SF interacts with spermatozoa and the inner cell lining of the female genital tract, to modulate sperm functions and female immune responsiveness. Its complex proteome might either be free or linked to extracellular vesicles (EVs) as it is the case in mammals, where EVs depict the tetraspanin CD9; and where those EVs derived from the epididymis (epididymosomes) also present the receptor CD44. In the present study, sperm‐free SF from Red Jungle Fowl, White Leghorn and an advanced intercross (AIL, 12th generation) were studied using flow cytometry of the membrane marker tetraspanin CD9, Western blotting of the membrane receptor CD44 and electron microscopy in non‐enriched (whole SF) or enriched fractions obtained by precipitation using a commercial kit (Total Exosome Precipitation Solution). Neither CD9‐ nor CD44 could be detected, and the ultrastructure confirmed the relative absence of EVs, raising the possibility that avian SF interacts differently with the female genitalia as compared to the seminal plasma of mammals.