ArticleCell research2011
Aquaporin3 is a sperm water channel essential for postcopulatory sperm osmoadaptation and migration.
Article in Cell research, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 139 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analysis of the Osmolarity of the Liquid Fraction of Squirrel Monkey's Semen (Saimiri collinsi Osgood, 1916) in Fattening and Non-Fattening Conditions.Journal of medical primatology · 2026Article
- The role of CFTR in spermatogenesis and sperm quality.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Seminal fluid extracellular vesicles restore human sperm osmoregulation after cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator inhibition.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Bioresponsive Hydrogel for On-Demand Nonhormonal Contraception.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Formation of a complex between TMEM217 and the sodium-proton exchanger SLC9C1 is crucial for mouse sperm motility and male fertility.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC19 regulates histone-to-protamine exchange during spermiogenesis in mice.Science advances · 2025Article
- Temperatures Lower than Preferred Ones Maintain DNA Integrity and Sperm Quality ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Downregulation of aquaporin 3 promotes hyperosmolarity-induced apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway suppression.Frontiers in genetics · 2025Article
- Essential role of germ cell glycerol-3-phosphate phosphatase for sperm health, oxidative stress control and male fertility in mice.Molecular metabolism · 2024Article
- Aquaporin-3a Dysfunction Impairs Osmoadaptation in Post-Activated Marine Fish Spermatozoa.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Aqp4a and Trpv4 mediate regulatory cell volume increase for swimming maintenance of marine fish spermatozoa.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Article
- Evaluation of the aquaporin molecules characterization in the sperm cells of men from different aged.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- Signaling Roleplay between Ion Channels during Mammalian Sperm Capacitation.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Article
- The association of ODF4 with AK1 and AK2 in mice is essential for fertility through its contribution to flagellar shape.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Male Sex Hormones, Metabolic Syndrome, and Aquaporins: A Triad of Players in Male (in)Fertility.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Variation of existence and location of aquaporin 3 in relation to cryoresistance of ram spermatozoa.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Article
- Aquaporins in Reproductive System.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Review
- Sperm RNA-mediated epigenetic inheritance in mammals: challenges and opportunities.Reproduction, fertility, and development · 2022Article
- Differential Expressions of Aquaporin Subtypes in the Adult Mouse Testis.Development & reproduction · 2022Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In the journey from the male to female reproductive tract, mammalian sperm experience a natural osmotic decrease (e.g., in mouse, from ~415 mOsm in the cauda epididymis to ~310 mOsm in the uterine cavity). Sperm have evolved to utilize this hypotonic exposure for motility activation, meanwhile efficiently silence the negative impact of hypotonic cell swelling. Previous physiological and pharmacological studies have shown that ion channel-controlled water influx/efflux is actively involved in the process of sperm volume regulation; however, no specific sperm proteins have been found responsible for this rapid osmoadaptation. Here, we report that aquaporin3 (AQP3) is a sperm water channel in mice and humans. Aqp3-deficient sperm show normal motility activation in response to hypotonicity but display increased vulnerability to hypotonic cell swelling, characterized by increased tail bending after entering uterus. The sperm defect is a result of impaired sperm volume regulation and progressive cell swelling in response to physiological hypotonic stress during male-female reproductive tract transition. Time-lapse imaging revealed that the cell volume expansion begins at cytoplasmic droplet, forcing the tail to angulate and form a hairpin-like structure due to mechanical membrane stretch. The tail deformation hampered sperm migration into oviduct, resulting in impaired fertilization and reduced male fertility. These data suggest AQP3 as an essential membrane pathway for sperm regulatory volume decrease (RVD) that balances the "trade-off" between sperm motility and cell swelling upon physiological hypotonicity, thereby optimizing postcopulatory sperm behavior.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.