2. Academic Validation
  3. The CatSper channel is present and plays a key role in sperm motility of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The CatSper channel is present and plays a key role in sperm motility of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

  • Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2020 Mar;241:110634. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.110634.
Jorge Félix Beltrán Lissabet 1,  Lisandra Herrera Belén 2,  Manuel Lee-Estevez 1,  Jennie Risopatrón 3,  Iván Valdebenito 4,  Elías Figueroa 5,  Jorge G Farías 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145 Box 54D, Temuco, Chile; Center of Biotechnology of Reproduction (CEBIOR), Bioresources Research Nucleus (BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Montevideo 0870, Temuco, Chile.
  • 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145 Box 54D, Temuco, Chile.
  • 3 Center of Biotechnology of Reproduction (CEBIOR), Bioresources Research Nucleus (BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Montevideo 0870, Temuco, Chile.
  • 4 School of Aquaculture, Catholic University of Temuco, Av. Rudecindo Ortega, 02950 Temuco, Chile.
  • 5 School of Aquaculture, Catholic University of Temuco, Av. Rudecindo Ortega, 02950 Temuco, Chile; Laboratorio de Biotecnología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
  • 6 Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145 Box 54D, Temuco, Chile; Center of Biotechnology of Reproduction (CEBIOR), Bioresources Research Nucleus (BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Montevideo 0870, Temuco, Chile. Electronic address: jorge.farias@ufrontera.cl.
PMID: 31841710 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.110634
Abstract

Among all the CA2+ channels, CatSper channels have been one of the most studied in sperm of different species due to their demonstrated role in the fertilization process. In fish sperm, the Calcium Channel plays a key role in sperm activation. However, the functionality of the CatSper channels has not been studied in any of the fish species. For the first time, we studied the relationship of the CatSper channel with sperm motility in a fish, using Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as the model. The results of our study showed that the CatSper channel in Salmo salar has chemical-physical characteristics similar to those reported for mammalian CatSper channels. In this work, it was shown that Salmo salar CatSper 3 protein has a molecular weight of approximately 55-kDa similar to Homo sapiens CatSper 3. In silico analyses suggest that this channel forms a heterotetramer sensitive to the specific inhibitor HC-056456, with a binding site in the center of the pore of the CatSper channel, hindering or preventing the influx of CA2+ ions. The in vitro assay of the sperm motility inhibition of Salmo salar with the inhibitor HC-056456 showed that sperm treated with this inhibitor significantly reduced the total and progressive motility (p < .0001), demonstrating the importance of this ionic channel for this cell. The complementation of the in silico and in vitro analyses of the present work demonstrates that the CatSper channel plays a key role in the regulation of sperm motility in Atlantic salmon.

Keywords

CatSper; Motility; Salmo salar; Sperm.

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