• PMID: 20711465
• Gene Name: SYNE3
• Condition: Connect the differentiating spermatid nucleus to surrounding cytoskeletal structures to enable its well-directed shaping and elongation, which in turn is a critical parameter for male fertility
• Association: Associated
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Connect the differentiating spermatid nucleus to surrounding cytoskeletal structures to enable its well-directed shaping and elongation, which in turn is a critical parameter for male fertility

Mammalian sperm head formation involves different polarization of two novel LINC complexes

Göb E, Schmitt J, Benavente R, Alsheimer M.

BACKGROUND: LINC complexes are nuclear envelope bridging protein structures formed by interaction of SUN and KASH proteins. They physically connect the nucleus with the peripheral cytoskeleton and are critically involved in a variety of dynamic processes, such as nuclear anchorage, movement and positioning and meiotic chromosome dynamics. Moreover, they are shown to be essential for maintaining nuclear shape. FINDINGS: Based on detailed expression analysis and biochemical approaches, we show here that during mouse sperm development, a terminal cell differentiation process characterized by profound morphogenic restructuring, two novel distinctive LINC complexes are established. They consist either of spermiogenesis-specific Sun3 and Nesprin1 or Sun1eta, a novel non-nuclear Sun1 isoform, and Nesprin3. We could find that these two LINC complexes specifically polarize to opposite spermatid poles likely linking to sperm-specific cytoskeletal structures. Although, as shown in co-transfection/immunoprecipitation experiments, SUN proteins appear to arbitrarily interact with various KASH partners, our study demonstrates that they actually are able to confine their binding to form distinct LINC complexes. CONCLUSIONS: Formation of the mammalian sperm head involves assembly and different polarization of two novel spermiogenesis-specific LINC complexes. Together, our findings suggest that theses LINC complexes connect the differentiating spermatid nucleus to surrounding cytoskeletal structures to enable its well-directed shaping and elongation, which in turn is a critical parameter for male fertility. FAU - Göb, Eva AU - Göb E AD - Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. FAU - Schmitt, Johannes AU - Schmitt J FAU - Benavente, Ricardo AU - Benavente R