Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sperm head shape is crucial for successful fertilization, and malformed sperm heads are often associated with severe male infertility. The sperm head is mainly shaped by the apical ectoplasmic specialization (ES), manchette, and perinuclear theca (PT). The PT is a specialized cytoskeletal structure that surrounds the nucleus of the sperm head during spermiogenesis. However, our understanding on the components and physiological functions of thePT in sperm head shaping remains limited. Here, we show that FNDC8 is a testis-predominantly expressed protein, and it is primarily localized to the PT. Disruption of this gene leads to male infertility due to the production of spermatozoa with acrosome detachment from the nuclear membrane and sperm head surface subsidence. Further studies revealed that FNDC8 interacts with both CCIN and ACTL7A during spermiogenesis, the depletion of this protein destablized these two proteins. Together, these results suggest that FNDC8 interacts with the above two proteins to maintain the integrity of the PT structure, facilitating proper sperm head shaping, suggesting that some mutations of FNDC8 might be associated with teratozoospermia in humans.
Source: 动物学研究
Authors: Liu Jia-Yi, 1广州医科大学附属广州市妇女儿童医疗中心, 广东 广州 510623, 中国 2钦州市妇幼保健院, 广西 钦州 535099, 中国 3华南农业大学动物科学学院动物遗传育种与繁殖系, 广东 广州 510642, 中国 4广州医科大学基础医学院中法霍夫曼研究所, 广东 广州 511436, 中国, Long Cheng-Hong, Wang Li-Ying, Ma Yan-Jie, Zheng Yun-Long, Li Wei, Wu Bing-Bing, Wu Hong-Bo
Language: English
Subfield: Reproductive Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4412681680