Helmholtz Gemeinschaft

Search
Browse
Statistics
Feeds

Characterization of non-olfactory GPCRs in human sperm with a focus on GPR18

[thumbnail of Original Article]
Preview
PDF (Original Article) - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
2MB
[thumbnail of Supplemental Information]
Preview
PDF (Supplemental Information) - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
1MB

Item Type:Article
Title:Characterization of non-olfactory GPCRs in human sperm with a focus on GPR18
Creators Name:Flegel, C., Vogel, F., Hofreuter, A., Wojcik, S., Schoeder, C., Kieć-Kononowicz, K., Brockmeyer, N.H., Müller, C.E., Becker, C., Altmüller, J., Hatt, H. and Gisselmann, G.
Abstract:G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transduce external chemical cues into intracellular signals and are involved in a plethora of physiological processes, but knowledge regarding the function of these receptors in spermatozoa is limited. In the present study, we performed RNA-Seq and analyzed the expression of the all GPCRs except olfactory receptors in human spermatozoa. We revealed the expression of up to 223 different GPCR transcripts in human spermatozoa (FPKM > 0.1) and identified GPR18, a newly described cannabinoid receptor, together with GPR137 and GPR135, as one of the three most highly expressed GPCRs. To date, the expression of GPR18 was completely unknown in human spermatozoa. We confirmed GPR18 expression using RT-PCR and immuncytochemistry experiments and localized the GPR18 protein in the midpiece of human spermatozoa. Stimulation of human spermatozoa with the GPR18 ligand N-arachidonoylglycine induced the phosphorylation of 12 protein kinases, some of them are for example known to be involved in the acrosome reaction. In line with this, N-arachidonoylglycine affected the cytoskeleton by changing levels of F-actin and inducing the acrosome reaction in human spermatozoa in a concentration-dependent manner. Our results indicate that GPR18 might be involved in physiological processes of human spermatozoa, suggesting GPR18 to be a potential player in sperm physiology.
Keywords:Acrosome Reaction, Actin Cytoskeleton, Arachidonic Acids, Gene Expression Profiling, G-Protein-Coupled Receptors, Phosphorylation, Sperm Midpiece, Spermatozoa
Source:Scientific Reports
ISSN:2045-2322
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
Volume:6
Page Range:32255
Date:30 August 2016
Official Publication:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32255
PubMed:View item in PubMed

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Open Access
MDC Library