• PMID: 29045572
• Gene Name: LCN6
• Condition: Impaired sperm maturation, Male infertility
• Association: Associated
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Impaired sperm maturation, Male infertility

Impaired sperm maturation in conditional Lcn6 knockout mice

Yin Q, Shen J, Wan X, Liu Q, Zhou Y, Zhang Y.

Human LCN6, a lipocalin protein, exhibits predominant expression in epididymis and location on the sperm surface. However, the biological function of LCN6 in vivo remains unknown. Herein, we found that unlike human LCN6, mouse Lcn6 gene encoded two transcript variants that were both upregulated by androgen. Subsequently, we generated a conditional knockout mouse model to disrupt Lcn6 in the adult and investigate its function. In this model, spermatogenesis was normal and Lcn6 deficiency did not affect the natural birth rate of male mice or in vitro fertilization ability of their cauda epididymal sperm. Nevertheless, sperm from the cauda epididymis of the Lcn6 null mice underwent a sustained increase of acrosome reaction frequency whether capacitated or not (P < 0.01). Consistent with premature acrosome reaction, sperm from knockout mice had significantly increased intracellular calcium content when extracellular calcium was supplied (P < 0.01). These results demonstrate an important function of LCN6 in preventing calcium overload and premature acrosome reaction of sperm and suggest a potential risk factor of LCN6 deficiency for sperm maturation. CI - © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. FAU - Yin, Qianqian AU - Yin Q AD - State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. FAU - Shen, Jia AU - Shen J AD - State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. FAU - Wan, Xiaofeng AU - Wan X AD - State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. FAU - Liu, Qiang AU - Liu Q AD - State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. AD - Shanghai Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Histoembryology, Genetics and Developmental Biology, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. FAU - Zhou, Yuchuan AU - Zhou Y AD - State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.