Proteomic Analysis of Proteins Involved in Spermiogenesis in Mouse

Spermiogenesis is a unique process in mammals during which haploid round spermatids mature into spermatozoa in the testis. Its successful completion is necessary for fertilization and its malfunction is an important cause of male infertility. Here, we report the high-confidence identification of 2116 proteins in mouse haploid germ cells undergoing spermiogenesis: 299 of these were testis-specific and 155 were novel. Analysis of these proteins showed many proteins possibly functioning in unique processes of spermiogenesis. Of the 84 proteins annotated to be involved in vesicle-related events, VAMP4 was shown to be important for acrosome biogenesis by in vivo knockdown experiments. Knockdown of VAMP4 caused defects of acrosomal vesicle fusion and significantly increased head abnormalities in spermatids from testis and sperm from the cauda epididymis. Analysis of chromosomal distribution of the haploid genes showed underrepresentation on the X chromosome and overrepresentation on chromosome 11, which were due to meiotic sex chromosome inactivation and expansion of testis-expressed gene families, respectively. Comparison with transcriptional data showed translational regulation during spermiogenesis. This characterization of proteins involved in spermiogenesis provides an inventory of proteins useful for understanding the mechanisms of male infertility and may provide candidates for drug targets for male contraception and male infertility.

Influence of Hypericum perforatum Extract on Piglet Infected with Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome Virus

To study the influence of Hypericum perforatum extract (HPE) on piglets infected with porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV), enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and cytopathic effect (CPE) were used to determine in vitro whether HPE could induce swine pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) to secrete IFN-gamma, and whether PRRSV titers in PAMs were affected by the levels of HPE-induced IFN-gamma. HPE (200 mg kg(-1)) was administrated by oral gavage to piglets infected with the PRRSV in vivo to observe whether HPE affected the viremia, lung viral titers, and weight gain of piglets infected with PRRSV. The results showed that HPE was capable of inducing PAMs to produce IFN-gamma in a dose dependent manner and HPE pretreatment was capable of significantly reducing PRRSV viral titers in PAMs (P<0.01). Administration of HPE to the PRRSV-infected animals significantly (P<0.05) reduced viremia over time as compared with the PRRSV-infected animals. But there was not significant decrease in lung viral titers at day 21 post-infection between the HPE-treated animals and the PRRSV-infected control piglets. There were no significant differences in weight gain over time among the HPE-treatment animals, the normal control, and the HPE control animals. The PRRSV-infected animals caused significant (P<0.01) growth retardation as compared with the HPE controls and the normal piglets. It suggested that HPE might be an effective novel therapeutic approach to diminish the PRRSV-induced disease in swine.