• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, October 3, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Protein defect leaves sperm chasing their tails

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 2, 2019
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A team led by researchers from Osaka University identify a protein required for electrical signal sensing, which, when defective, causes sperm to swim in circles

IMAGE

Credit: Osaka University


Osaka, Japan – With more and more couples seeking assistance to conceive, the steps required for fertilization are being put under the microscope to identify factors that could enhance fertility. In a study published in the journal PNAS, a team led by researchers from Osaka University describe an exciting breakthrough that may aid in future fertility treatments.

When it comes down to it, sperm have only one job: to fertilize the egg. To do this though, they must first make their way to the fallopian tube, propelled by long tails called flagella. When they near their destination, the sperm become turbo-charged in a process known as capacitation, allowing them to race towards the egg. This enhanced motility is triggered by an influx of calcium ions into the flagellum. While researchers have known for some time that an electrical signal-sensing protein called VSP is expressed in sperm of many animal species, the actual physiological role of this protein was unknown.

Lead author of the study Takafumi Kawai explains, “Determining the physiological role of VSP was the main aim of our study. To do this, we generated a VSP-deficient mouse line so that we could examine VSP-deficient sperm from these animals.”

The first thing the researchers noticed was that the VSP-deficient sperm had a greatly reduced ability to fertilize eggs in vitro. Closer inspection showed that the sperm were swimming around in circles during capacitation, meaning that fewer sperm actually made it to their destination. Defective motility suggested a problem with the flagellum, prompting the researchers to examine these structures in more detail.

“Surprisingly, in normal sperm, a lipid molecule called PIP2 is concentrated near the top of the flagellum, closer to the head,” says Dr Kawai. “In the VSP-deficient sperm, PIP2 was both more abundant and more widely dispersed throughout the flagellum. We also recorded much higher concentrations of calcium ions in the VSP-deficient sperm.”

These findings suggested that VSP plays a major role in ion channel regulation, which ultimately affects motility. The researchers proposed a mechanism whereby VSP is responsible for the polarized distribution of PIP2 in the flagellum. PIP2 then activates potassium ion channels, which indirectly causes a localized influx of calcium ions, enhancing motility. In the VSP-deficient sperm, the dispersed PIP2 causes excessive calcium ion influx which decreases the flexibility of the flagellum, affecting motility.

According to senior author of the study Yasushi Okamura, the discovery of VSP-based regulation of sperm motility has significant implications for male fertility. “We predict that our findings will lead to the development of fertility treatments that enhance sperm motility, increasing the chances of fertilization.”

###

The article, “Polarized PtdIns(4,5)P2 distribution mediated by a voltage-sensing phosphatase (VSP) regulates sperm motility,” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916867116.

About Osaka University

Osaka University was founded in 1931 as one of the seven imperial universities of Japan and now has expanded to one of Japan’s leading comprehensive universities. The University has now embarked on open research revolution from a position as Japan’s most innovative university and among the most innovative institutions in the world according to Reuters 2015 Top 100 Innovative Universities and the Nature Index Innovation 2017. The university’s ability to innovate from the stage of fundamental research through the creation of useful technology with economic impact stems from its broad disciplinary spectrum.

Website: https://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/top

Media Contact
Saori Obayashi
[email protected]
81-661-055-886

Original Source

https://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/research/2019/20191129_2

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916867116

Tags: BiologyDevelopmental/Reproductive BiologyFertilityMolecular BiologyPhysiology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Countries with Highest Hearing Loss Rates Show Lowest Hearing Aid Usage

October 3, 2025

Home-Based Early Medical Abortion Up to 12 Weeks: Safe, Effective, and on Par with Hospital Care

October 3, 2025

Alleviating ECT Anxiety Through Progressive Muscle Relaxation

October 2, 2025

Diabetic Patients in Upper Egypt: Adherence and Perception Insights

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    92 shares
    Share 37 Tweet 23
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    83 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Countries with Highest Hearing Loss Rates Show Lowest Hearing Aid Usage

Home-Based Early Medical Abortion Up to 12 Weeks: Safe, Effective, and on Par with Hospital Care

Stable Sodium-Ion Battery Cathode: K-rich Copper Hexacyanoferrate

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.