Rotational motion and rheotaxis of human sperm do not require functional CatSper channels and transmembrane Ca 2+ signaling

Navigation of sperm in fluid flow, called rheotaxis, provides long-range guidance in the mammalian oviduct. The rotation of sperm around their longitudinal axis (rolling) promotes rheotaxis. Whether sperm rolling and rheotaxis require calcium (Ca ) influx via the sperm-specific Ca channel CatSper, o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe EMBO journal Vol. 39; no. 4; p. e102363
Main Authors Schiffer, Christian, Rieger, Steffen, Brenker, Christoph, Young, Samuel, Hamzeh, Hussein, Wachten, Dagmar, Tüttelmann, Frank, Röpke, Albrecht, Kaupp, U Benjamin, Wang, Tao, Wagner, Alice, Krallmann, Claudia, Kliesch, Sabine, Fallnich, Carsten, Strünker, Timo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 17.02.2020
Subjects
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Calcium - metabolism
Calcium Channels - genetics
Calcium Channels - metabolism
Calcium Signaling
Humans
Hydrodynamics
Male
Mice
Seminal Plasma Proteins - genetics
Seminal Plasma Proteins - metabolism
Sperm Motility
Spermatozoa - physiology
human sperm
CatSper
rolling
Ca2+ signaling
rheotaxis
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Summary:Navigation of sperm in fluid flow, called rheotaxis, provides long-range guidance in the mammalian oviduct. The rotation of sperm around their longitudinal axis (rolling) promotes rheotaxis. Whether sperm rolling and rheotaxis require calcium (Ca ) influx via the sperm-specific Ca channel CatSper, or rather represent passive biomechanical and hydrodynamic processes, has remained controversial. Here, we study the swimming behavior of sperm from healthy donors and from infertile patients that lack functional CatSper channels, using dark-field microscopy, optical tweezers, and microfluidics. We demonstrate that rolling and rheotaxis persist in CatSper-deficient human sperm. Furthermore, human sperm undergo rolling and rheotaxis even when Ca influx is prevented. Finally, we show that rolling and rheotaxis also persist in mouse sperm deficient in both CatSper and flagellar Ca -signaling domains. Our results strongly support the concept that passive biomechanical and hydrodynamic processes enable sperm rolling and rheotaxis, rather than calcium signaling mediated by CatSper or other mechanisms controlling transmembrane Ca flux.
ISSN:0261-4189
1460-2075
DOI:10.15252/embj.2019102363