CCL20-CCR6 axis directs sperm-oocyte interaction and its dysregulation correlates/associates with male infertility.

CCL20-CCR6 axis directs sperm-oocyte interaction and its dysregulation correlates/associates with male infertility. Biol Reprod. 2020 May 15;: Authors: Duan YG, Wehry UP, Buhren BA, Schrumpf H, Oláh P, Bünemann E, Yu CF, Chen SJ, Müller A, Hirchenhain J, van Lierop A, Novak N, Cai ZM, Krüssel JS, Schuppe HC, Haidl G, Gerber PA, Allam JP, Homey B Abstract The interaction of sperm with the oocyte is pivotal during the process of mammalian fertilization. The limited numbers of sperm that reach the fallopian tube as well as anatomic restrictions indicate that human sperm-oocyte encounter is not a matter of chance but a directed process. Chemotaxis is the proposed mechanism for re-orientating sperm towards the source of a chemoattractant, and hence to the oocyte. Chemokines represent a superfamily of small (8-11 kDa), cytokine-like proteins that have been shown to mediate chemotaxis and tissue-specific homing of leukocytes through binding to specific chemokine receptors such as CCRs. Here we show that CCR6 is abundantly expressed on human sperms and in human testes. Furthermore, radioligand-binding experiments showed that CCL20 bound human sperm in a specific manner. Conversely, granulosa cells of the oocyte-surrounding cumulus complex as well as human oocytes represent an abundant source of the CCR6-specific ligand CCL20. In human ovaries, CCL20 shows a cycle-dependent expression pattern with peak expression in the preovulatory phas...
Source: Biology of Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Biol Reprod Source Type: research