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Effects of Vitamin-E treatment on CatSper genes expression and sperm quality in the testis of the aging mouse
Mohammadi, Shabnam; Jalali, Mehdi; Nikravesh, Mohammad Reza; Fazel, Alireza; Ebrahimzadeh, Alireza; Gholamin, Mehran & Sankian, Mojtaba
Abstract
Background: CatSper genes are a novel family of four sperm-specific calcium
channels, which indicate testis-specific expression patterns. Despite the crucial role
of CatSper genes in the male reproduction, very little is known about the factors that
regulate their expression.
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin E treatment on the expression of CatSper 1 and CatSper 2 genes as well as sperm quality in the aged male mice.
Materials and Methods: Twenty four 11-12 months old aged male mice and twenty
four 2-3-months old young male mice were randomly divided into four groups.
Control groups received no injection. The experimental groups of male mice were
received intraperitoneal injection of 106 mg/kg vitamin E daily for 35 days. Left
testis and cauda epididymides from each mouse were collected on the days 21, 28
and 35 following vitamin E treatment and were used for Real-Time PCR and
immunohistochemistry. Also, sperm analysis was performed according to the WHO
guidelines given for human sperm examination. Data were analyzed using SPSS
software.
Results: Administration of vitamin E improved sperm parameters in the aged as
well as young adult male mice. In addition, the expression of CatSper genes
increased following vitamin E treatment. Also, intensity of signal for CatSper1 and
CatSper2 increased in the head and middle piece of sperm in experimental group as
compared to those of control ones.
Conclusion: The vitamin E treatment significantly improved the sperm quality,
especially in terms of sperm motility, count and morphology rate. Furthermore,
CatSper genes expression could be up-regulated by the vitamin E treatment.
Keywords
CatSper; Sperm; Testis; Mice; Aging; Vitamin E
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