ArticleAndrology2022
Expression of membrane fusion proteins in spermatozoa and total fertilisation failure during in vitro fertilisation.
Article in Andrology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Molecular interplay between sperm and oocyte: a narrative review.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Age-Associated Proteomic Changes in Human Spermatozoa.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- New Insights on Sperm Function in Male Infertility of Unknown Origin: A Multimodal Approach.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- A novel function for the sperm adhesion protein IZUMO1 in cell-cell fusion.The Journal of cell biology · 2023Article
- A comprehensive investigation of human endogenous retroviral syncytin proteins and their receptors in men with normozoospermia and impaired semen quality.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2023Article
- Expression of membrane fusion proteins in spermatozoa and total fertilisation failure during in vitro fertilisation.Andrology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCouples increasingly experience infertility and seek help from assisted reproductive techniques to become pregnant. However, 5%-15% of the couples that are selected for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) experience a total fertilisation failure (TFF), where no zygotes develop despite oocytes and semen parameters appear to be normal. We hypothesise that TFF during IVF could be related to improper membrane fusion of gametes.
objectiveTo investigate the membrane integrity and fusion proteins in spermatozoa from men in couples experiencing TFF. MATERIALS AND
methodsA total of 33 infertile couples, 17 of which experienced TFF during IVF and 16 matched control couples with normal IVF fertilisation rates, were selected and the men re-called to deliver an additional semen sample. Proteins involved in gamete membrane fusion on spermatozoa (IZUMO1, SPESP1 and Syncytin-1) as well as O-glycosylation patterns (Tn and GALNT3), were investigated by immunofluorescence. The DNA fragmentation index, acrosomal integrity and viability of spermatozoa were determined by flow and image cytometry.
resultsNo significant changes in the expression of GALNT3, Tn and Syncytin-1 were observed between the TFF and control groups. The fraction of spermatozoa expressing SPESP1, the median IZUMO1 staining intensity, and the percentage of viable acrosome-intact spermatozoa were significantly lower in the TFF group compared to controls. Furthermore, following progesterone-induced acrosomal exocytosis, a significant difference in the fraction of spermatozoa expressing SPESP1 and the median IZUMO1 staining intensity were observed between the control and TFF group. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionOur results indicate that acrosomal exocytosis, IZUMO1 and SPESP1 expression in spermatozoa could play a crucial role in achieving fertilisation during IVF. However, the size of our cohort was quite small, and our results need to be validated with quantitative methods in larger cohorts.
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