Journal: Nature Communications
Article Title: Phosphatidylserine on viable sperm and phagocytic machinery in oocytes regulate mammalian fertilization
doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12406-z
Figure Lengend Snippet: Phosphatidylserine on live sperm is important for in vitro fertilization. a Depiction of the mouse testis and epididymis. b Sperm from different regions of the epididymis were allowed to swim/disperse in TYH + BSA medium, stained with Annexin V and Hoechst, and evaluated by microscopy. c , d Annexin V staining of sperm. Asterisks denote sperm heads, and arrows midpiece. Scale bar, 20 μm. e Percentage of Annexin V + sperm from the caput ( n = 9 mice), corpus ( n = 8 mice), and cauda ( n = 15 mice) epididymis, with each dot representing one mouse (six independent experiments). * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001 (one-way non parametric ANOVA was followed by Kruskal–Wallis test for multiple comparisons). f , g , Sperm from cauda epididymis were incubated with 50 μg/ml GST only f or GST-BAI1-TSR g , washed, fixed and visualized by GST immunofluorescence. Scale bar, 20 μm. h Snap shots of a movie depicting motility of live Annexin V + (green) sperm (t: time in min). The trajectory of a single sperm is traced by a white dotted line. Scale bar, 30 μm. i Schematic of the in vitro fertilization assay: cumulus oocyte complexes isolated from wt super-ovulated females were incubated with caudal sperm previously capacitated, in the presence or absence of 10 μg/ml Annexin V, 50 μg/ml GST, or 50 μg/ml GST-BAI1-TSR. The percentage of fertilized eggs (two-cell embryos) was evaluated after 24 h. j Multiple two-cell embryos fertilization with control sperm (left panel, arrows), whereas fewer fertilized eggs were observed with Annexin V (right panel, arrows). Scale bar, 100 μm. k , l Annexin V masking of PtdSer on sperm ( k , n = 4 experiments) or GST-BAI1-TSR ( l , n = 4 experiments) reduces fertilization. The total number of eggs analyzed is shown in parentheses. Each line represents one experiment and the matching experiments are shown (shape and color). Error bars are s.e.m. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 (Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test). m , n Greater unfertilized oocytes (asterisks) seen after competition with O -Phospho- l -Serine compared with O -Phospho- d -Serine (top). Scale bar, 100 μm. Each line represents one experiment and matching experiments are shown with the same shape and color ( n = 4 experiments). Error bars are s.e.m. ** p < 0.01 (Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test). Source Data are provided in the Source Data File
Article Snippet: Human ovary was stained with BAI1/3 Ab (R&D Systems) by the Biorepository and Tissue Research Facility at the University of Virginia.
Techniques: In Vitro, Staining, Microscopy, Incubation, Immunofluorescence, Isolation, Two Tailed Test