Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations
Nuclear vacuoles are specific structures present on the head of the human sperm of fertile and non-fertile men. Human sperm head vacuoles have been previously studied using motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) and their origin related to abnormal morphology, abnormal chromatin conde...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/12/10027 |
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| author | María José Gómez-Torres Javier Luna-Romero Pedro José Fernández-Colom Jon Aizpurua Manuel Avilés Alejandro Romero |
| author_facet | María José Gómez-Torres Javier Luna-Romero Pedro José Fernández-Colom Jon Aizpurua Manuel Avilés Alejandro Romero |
| author_sort | María José Gómez-Torres |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nuclear vacuoles are specific structures present on the head of the human sperm of fertile and non-fertile men. Human sperm head vacuoles have been previously studied using motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) and their origin related to abnormal morphology, abnormal chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. However, other studies argued that human sperm vacuoles are physiological structures and consequently, to date, the nature and origin of the nuclear vacuoles remains to be elucidated. Here, we aim to define the incidence, position, morphology and molecular content of the human sperm vacuoles using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunocytochemistry techniques. The results showed that ~50% of the analyzed human sperm cells (<i>n</i> = 1908; 17 normozoospermic human donors) contained vacuoles mainly located (80%) in the tip head region. A significant positive correlation was found between the sperm vacuole and nucleus areas. Furthermore, it was confirmed that nuclear vacuoles were invaginations of the nuclear envelope from the perinuclear theca and containing cytoskeletal proteins and cytoplasmic enzyme, discarding a nuclear or acrosomal origin. According to our findings, these human sperm head vacuoles are cellular structures originating from nuclear invaginations and contain perinuclear theca (PT) components, allowing us to define a new term of ‘nuclear invaginations’ rather than ‘nuclear vacuoles’. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:21:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df60e64eee0e467b9080cad0701491dc |
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| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:21:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-df60e64eee0e467b9080cad0701491dc2023-11-18T10:47:33ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-06-0124121002710.3390/ijms241210027Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope InvaginationsMaría José Gómez-Torres0Javier Luna-Romero1Pedro José Fernández-Colom2Jon Aizpurua3Manuel Avilés4Alejandro Romero5Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Ginecología (Medicina Reproductiva), Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, 46026 Valencia, SpainCátedra Human Fertility, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Biología Celular e Histología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Murcia IMIB-Arrixaca, Campus Mare Nostrum, 30100 Murcia, SpainDepartamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainNuclear vacuoles are specific structures present on the head of the human sperm of fertile and non-fertile men. Human sperm head vacuoles have been previously studied using motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) and their origin related to abnormal morphology, abnormal chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. However, other studies argued that human sperm vacuoles are physiological structures and consequently, to date, the nature and origin of the nuclear vacuoles remains to be elucidated. Here, we aim to define the incidence, position, morphology and molecular content of the human sperm vacuoles using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunocytochemistry techniques. The results showed that ~50% of the analyzed human sperm cells (<i>n</i> = 1908; 17 normozoospermic human donors) contained vacuoles mainly located (80%) in the tip head region. A significant positive correlation was found between the sperm vacuole and nucleus areas. Furthermore, it was confirmed that nuclear vacuoles were invaginations of the nuclear envelope from the perinuclear theca and containing cytoskeletal proteins and cytoplasmic enzyme, discarding a nuclear or acrosomal origin. According to our findings, these human sperm head vacuoles are cellular structures originating from nuclear invaginations and contain perinuclear theca (PT) components, allowing us to define a new term of ‘nuclear invaginations’ rather than ‘nuclear vacuoles’.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/12/10027human spermvacuolesultrastructuremorphologyimmunocytochemistryTEM |
| spellingShingle | María José Gómez-Torres Javier Luna-Romero Pedro José Fernández-Colom Jon Aizpurua Manuel Avilés Alejandro Romero Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations International Journal of Molecular Sciences human sperm vacuoles ultrastructure morphology immunocytochemistry TEM |
| title | Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations |
| title_full | Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations |
| title_fullStr | Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations |
| title_short | Human Sperm Head Vacuoles Are Related to Nuclear-Envelope Invaginations |
| title_sort | human sperm head vacuoles are related to nuclear envelope invaginations |
| topic | human sperm vacuoles ultrastructure morphology immunocytochemistry TEM |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/12/10027 |
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