• PMID: 23553430
• Gene Name: PRSS37
• Condition: Male infertility
• Association: Associated
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Male infertility

Prss37 is required for male fertility in the mouse

Shen C, Kuang Y, Liu J, Feng J, Chen X, Wu W, Chi J, Tang L, Wang Y, Fei J, Wang Z.

In order to understand the mechanisms of mammalian fertilization, studies using genetically manipulated animals have provided us with plenty of interesting and valuable information on the genetic factors affecting male fertility. In the present work, we demonstrate for the first time that Prss37, a previously uncharacterized putative trypsin-like serine protease, is required for male fertility. Prss37 is highly and exclusively expressed in the testis of adult mice, especially in the elongating spermatids during spermiogenesis, and almost vanishes in the mature sperm of mice. Mice deficient for Prss37 show male infertility, but their mating activity, spermatogenesis, sperm morphology, and motility remain unaffected. In vivo fertilization assays revealed that Prss37(-/-) mice exhibited a markedly decreased fertilization rate (2.3% vs. 70% of that in control mice) accompanied by the defect in sperm migration from uterus into oviduct. In vitro study further showed sperm were incapable of sperm-egg recognition/binding when zona-intact eggs were exposed to Prss37(-/-) sperm, in which mature Adam3 was completely undetectable. Interestingly, however, Prss37(-/-) sperm were able to fertilize cumulus-intact oocytes in vitro. These data clearly indicate that Prss37 deficiency causes the absence of mature Adam3 in sperm and a defect in sperm migration from uterus into oviduct, which mainly accounts for male infertility of Prss37-null mice, while the defect in sperm-zona binding seems irrelevant to the fertilizing ability of Prss37(-/-) sperm. FAU - Shen, Chunling AU - Shen C AD - State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. FAU - Kuang, Ying AU - Kuang Y FAU - Liu, Jianbing AU - Liu J FAU - Feng, Jingsheng AU - Feng J FAU - Chen, Xiaoyi AU - Chen X FAU - Wu, Wenting AU - Wu W FAU - Chi, Jun AU - Chi J FAU - Tang, Lingyun AU - Tang L FAU - Wang, Yifei AU - Wang Y FAU - Fei, Jian AU - Fei J