Motility of efferent duct cilia aids passage of sperm cells through the male reproductive system

Motile cilia line the efferent ducts of the mammalian male reproductive tract. Several recent mouse studies have demonstrated that a reduced generation of multiple motile cilia in efferent ducts is associated with obstructive oligozoospermia and fertility issues. However, the sole impact of efferent...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMolecular human reproduction Vol. 27; no. 3
Main Authors Aprea, Isabella, Nöthe-Menchen, Tabea, Dougherty, Gerard W, Raidt, Johanna, Loges, Niki T, Kaiser, Thomas, Wallmeier, Julia, Olbrich, Heike, Strünker, Timo, Kliesch, Sabine, Pennekamp, Petra, Omran, Heymut
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Oxford University Press 27.02.2021
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:Motile cilia line the efferent ducts of the mammalian male reproductive tract. Several recent mouse studies have demonstrated that a reduced generation of multiple motile cilia in efferent ducts is associated with obstructive oligozoospermia and fertility issues. However, the sole impact of efferent duct cilia dysmotility on male infertility has not been studied so far either in mice or human. Using video microscopy, histological- and ultrastructural analyses, we examined male reproductive tracts of mice deficient for the axonemal motor protein DNAH5: this defect exclusively disrupts the outer dynein arm (ODA) composition of motile cilia but not the ODA composition and motility of sperm flagella. These mice have immotile efferent duct cilia that lack ODAs, which are essential for ciliary beat generation. Furthermore, they show accumulation of sperm in the efferent duct. Notably, the ultrastructure and motility of sperm from these males are unaffected. Likewise, human individuals with loss-of-function DNAH5 mutations present with reduced sperm count in the ejaculate (oligozoospermia) and dilatations of the epididymal head but normal sperm motility, similar to DNAH5 deficient mice. The findings of this translational study demonstrate, in both mice and men, that efferent duct ciliary motility is important for male reproductive fitness and uncovers a novel pathomechanism distinct from primary defects of sperm motility (asthenozoospermia). If future work can identify environmental factors or defects in genes other than DNAH5 that cause efferent duct cilia dysmotility, this will help unravel other causes of oligozoospermia and may influence future practices in genetic and fertility counseling as well as ART.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Undefined-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
content type line 23
Petra Pennekamp and Heymut Omran share the last authorship.
Isabella Aprea and Tabea Nöthe-Menchen should be regarded as joint First Authors.
ISSN:1360-9947
1460-2407
DOI:10.1093/molehr/gaab009