Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.

There are few reports on the role of protein phosphatases during capacitation. Here, we report on the role of PP2B, PP1, and PP2A during human sperm capacitation. Motile sperm were resuspended in non-capacitating medium (NCM, Tyrode's medium, albumin- and bicarbonate-free) or in reconstituted m...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Janetti R Signorelli, Emilce S Díaz, Karla Fara, Lina Barón, Patricio Morales
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846847?pdf=render
_version_ 1818658026853236736
author Janetti R Signorelli
Emilce S Díaz
Karla Fara
Lina Barón
Patricio Morales
author_facet Janetti R Signorelli
Emilce S Díaz
Karla Fara
Lina Barón
Patricio Morales
author_sort Janetti R Signorelli
collection DOAJ
description There are few reports on the role of protein phosphatases during capacitation. Here, we report on the role of PP2B, PP1, and PP2A during human sperm capacitation. Motile sperm were resuspended in non-capacitating medium (NCM, Tyrode's medium, albumin- and bicarbonate-free) or in reconstituted medium (RCM, NCM plus 2.6% albumin/25 mM bicarbonate). The presence of the phosphatases was evaluated by western blotting and the subcellular localization by indirect immunofluorescence. The function of these phosphatases was analyzed by incubating the sperm with specific inhibitors: okadaic acid, I2, endothall, and deltamethrin. Different aliquots were incubated in the following media: 1) NCM; 2) NCM plus inhibitors; 3) RCM; and 4) RCM plus inhibitors. The percent capacitated sperm and phosphatase activities were evaluated using the chlortetracycline assay and a phosphatase assay kit, respectively. The results confirm the presence of PP2B and PP1 in human sperm. We also report the presence of PP2A, specifically, the catalytic subunit and the regulatory subunits PR65 and B. PP2B and PP2A were present in the tail, neck, and postacrosomal region, and PP1 was present in the postacrosomal region, neck, middle, and principal piece of human sperm. Treatment with phosphatase inhibitors rapidly (≤1 min) increased the percent of sperm depicting the pattern B, reaching a maximum of ∼40% that was maintained throughout incubation; after 3 h, the percent of capacitated sperm was similar to that of the control. The enzymatic activity of the phosphatases decreased during capacitation without changes in their expression. The pattern of phosphorylation on threonine residues showed a sharp increase upon treatment with the inhibitors. In conclusion, human sperm express PP1, PP2B, and PP2A, and the activity of these phosphatases decreases during capacitation. This decline in phosphatase activities and the subsequent increase in threonine phosphorylation may be an important requirement for the success of sperm capacitation.
first_indexed 2024-12-17T03:50:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-1ec9eb549cb84dc886836c305df0f8af
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-17T03:50:50Z
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-1ec9eb549cb84dc886836c305df0f8af2022-12-21T22:04:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01812e8128610.1371/journal.pone.0081286Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.Janetti R SignorelliEmilce S DíazKarla FaraLina BarónPatricio MoralesThere are few reports on the role of protein phosphatases during capacitation. Here, we report on the role of PP2B, PP1, and PP2A during human sperm capacitation. Motile sperm were resuspended in non-capacitating medium (NCM, Tyrode's medium, albumin- and bicarbonate-free) or in reconstituted medium (RCM, NCM plus 2.6% albumin/25 mM bicarbonate). The presence of the phosphatases was evaluated by western blotting and the subcellular localization by indirect immunofluorescence. The function of these phosphatases was analyzed by incubating the sperm with specific inhibitors: okadaic acid, I2, endothall, and deltamethrin. Different aliquots were incubated in the following media: 1) NCM; 2) NCM plus inhibitors; 3) RCM; and 4) RCM plus inhibitors. The percent capacitated sperm and phosphatase activities were evaluated using the chlortetracycline assay and a phosphatase assay kit, respectively. The results confirm the presence of PP2B and PP1 in human sperm. We also report the presence of PP2A, specifically, the catalytic subunit and the regulatory subunits PR65 and B. PP2B and PP2A were present in the tail, neck, and postacrosomal region, and PP1 was present in the postacrosomal region, neck, middle, and principal piece of human sperm. Treatment with phosphatase inhibitors rapidly (≤1 min) increased the percent of sperm depicting the pattern B, reaching a maximum of ∼40% that was maintained throughout incubation; after 3 h, the percent of capacitated sperm was similar to that of the control. The enzymatic activity of the phosphatases decreased during capacitation without changes in their expression. The pattern of phosphorylation on threonine residues showed a sharp increase upon treatment with the inhibitors. In conclusion, human sperm express PP1, PP2B, and PP2A, and the activity of these phosphatases decreases during capacitation. This decline in phosphatase activities and the subsequent increase in threonine phosphorylation may be an important requirement for the success of sperm capacitation.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846847?pdf=render
spellingShingle Janetti R Signorelli
Emilce S Díaz
Karla Fara
Lina Barón
Patricio Morales
Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
PLoS ONE
title Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
title_full Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
title_fullStr Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
title_full_unstemmed Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
title_short Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.
title_sort protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation a new requirement for this event
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846847?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT janettirsignorelli proteinphosphatasesdecreasetheiractivityduringcapacitationanewrequirementforthisevent
AT emilcesdiaz proteinphosphatasesdecreasetheiractivityduringcapacitationanewrequirementforthisevent
AT karlafara proteinphosphatasesdecreasetheiractivityduringcapacitationanewrequirementforthisevent
AT linabaron proteinphosphatasesdecreasetheiractivityduringcapacitationanewrequirementforthisevent
AT patriciomorales proteinphosphatasesdecreasetheiractivityduringcapacitationanewrequirementforthisevent