Journal of Andrology Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Epididymis
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Published-Ahead-of-Print March 10, 2011, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.110.011254
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 33, No. 1, January/February 2012
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.110.011254

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Localization, Distribution, and Function of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor in Sperm

FRANCISCO J. MENDOZA*, CARLOS C. PEREZ-MARIN*, LUIS GARCIA-MARIN{dagger}, JUAN A. MADUEñO{ddagger}, CHARLES HENLEY§, ESCOLASTICO AGUILERA-TEJERO* AND MARIANO RODRIGUEZ{ddagger}

From the * Departamento Medicina y Cirugia Animal, Universidad de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain; the {dagger} Departamento Fisiologia Animal, Universidad de Caceres, Caceres, Spain; the {ddagger} Unidad de Investigacion, Servicio de Nefrologia, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia, Cordoba, Spain; and the § Department of Metabolic Disorders, Amgen Inc, Thousand Oaks, California.

Correspondence to: Dr Francisco Javier Mendoza Garcia, Dept Medicina y Cirugia Animal, Universidad de Cordoba, Campus Universitario Rabanales, Ctra. Madrid-Cadiz km 396, 14014 Cordoba, Spain (e-mail: pv2megaf{at}uco.es).



Abstract

The intracellular movement of calcium, through calcium channels, plays a major role on sperm cell function. The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), a molecular mechanism by which many cells detect changes in extracellular calcium concentration, has not been described in spermatozoa. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the CaSR in testicular tissue and sperm cells and the functional consequences of spermatozoid CaSR activation by calcimimetics. CaSR mRNA and protein were identified both in rat testicular tissue and in rat spermatozoa using real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Functionality of CaSR was evaluated by studying the influence of calcimimetic AMG 641 on rat and pig sperm motility. Treatment with AMG 641 100 nM for 1 hour increased rat sperm motility from a score of 1.0 ± 0.1 to 3.8 ± 0.3 (P < .05). AMG 641 also resulted in a modest but significant increase in the pig sperm motility parameters evaluated by computer-assisted sperm analysis. AMG 641 was effective in a wide range of concentrations but resulted in a more marked effect at 50–100 nM. In addition, AMG 641 did not have any negative effect on sperm viability, which was measured by flow cytometry. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the expression of functional CaSR in testicular tissue and sperm, which can be activated by calcimimetic AMG 641.

     Key words: Extracellular calcium, calcimimetic, spermatozoa, motility






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