SNAREs in mammalian sperm: possible implications for fertilization.

Soluble N-ethylmalameide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins are present in mammalian sperm and could be involved in critical membrane fusion events during fertilization, namely the acrosome reaction. Vesicle-associated membrane protein/synaptobrevin, a SNARE on the membrane of a vesicular carrier, and syntaxin 1, a SNARE on the target membrane, as well as the calcium sensor synaptotagmin I, are present in the acrosome of mammalian sperm (human, rhesus monkey, bull, hamster, mouse). Sperm SNAREs are sloughed off during the acrosome reaction, paralleling the release of sperm membrane vesicles and acrosomal contents, and SNARE antibodies inhibit both the acrosome reaction and fertilization, without inhibiting sperm-egg binding. In addition, sperm SNAREs may be responsible, together with other sperm components, for the asynchronous male DNA decondensation that occurs following intracytoplasmic sperm injection, an assisted reproduction technique that bypasses normal sperm-egg surface interactions. The results suggest the participation of sperm SNAREs during membrane fusion events at fertilization in mammals.

TransgenICSI reviewed: foreign DNA transmission by intracytoplasmic sperm injection in rhesus monkey.

This brief review considers the status of transgenesis by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with nonhuman primates. GFP expressing rhesus macaques embryos (mean = 34.6%; N = 81) were produced by ICSI using rhodamine-tagged DNA encoding the green fluorescence protein (GFP) gene bound on sperm. Rhodamine signal was lost at the egg surface during in vitro fertilization (IVF) but could be traced by dynamic imaging during ICSI within the egg cytoplasm. GFP gene was expressed as early as the 4-cell stage in ICSI embryos but not in embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF). The percentage of GFP expressing blastomeres increased during embryogenesis to the blastocyst stage. Three offspring resulted from seven embryo transfers-a set of anatomically normal twins (a male and a female) stillborn 35 days premature, and a healthy male born at term. Although transgene was not detected in the offspring, the successful production of live primates using DNA bound sperm by ICSI suggests an alternative route to creating transgenic animals. It also raises concern regarding transmission of infectious material during ICSI.

Sperm aster formation and pronuclear decondensation during rabbit fertilization and development of a functional assay for human sperm.

Microtubule organization and chromatin configurations in rabbit eggs after in vivo rabbit fertilization and after intracytoplasmic injection with human sperm were characterized. In unfertilized eggs, an anastral barrel-shaped meiotic spindle, oriented radially to the cortex, was observed. After rabbit sperm incorporation, microtubules were organized into a radial aster from the sperm head, and cytoplasmic microtubules were organized around the male and female pronuclei. The microtubules extending from the decondensed sperm head participated in pronuclear migration, and organization around the female pronucleus may also be important for pronuclear centration. Support for these observations was found in parthenogenetically activated eggs, in which microtubule arrays were organized around the single female pronucleus that formed after artificial activation. These observations support a biparental centrosomal contribution during rabbit fertilization as opposed to a strictly paternal inheritance pattern suggested from previous studies. In rabbit eggs that received injected human donor sperm, an astral array of microtubules radiated from the sperm neck and enlarged as the sperm head underwent pronuclear decondensation. gamma-Tubulin was observed in the center of the sperm aster. We conclude that the rabbit egg exhibits a blended centrosomal contribution necessary for completion of fertilization and that the rabbit egg may be a novel animal model for assessing centrosomal function in human sperm and spermatogenic cells following intracytoplasmic injection.

Clonal propagation of primate offspring by embryo splitting.

Primates that are identical in both nuclear and cytoplasmic components have not been produced by current cloning strategies, yet such identicals represent the ideal model for investigations of human diseases. Here, genetically identical nonhuman embryos were produced as twin and larger sets by separation and reaggregation of blastomeres of cleavage-stage embryos. A total of 368 multiples were created by the splitting of 107 rhesus embryos with four pregnancies established after 13 embryo transfers (31% versus 53% in vitro fertilization controls). The birth of Tetra, a healthy female cloned from a quarter of an embryo, proves that this approach can result in live offspring.

Foreign DNA transmission by ICSI: injection of spermatozoa bound with exogenous DNA results in embryonic GFP expression and live rhesus monkey births.

Exogenous DNA transfer, mediated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with plasmid-bound spermatozoa, results in the production of transgene expressing embryos in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, mean = 34.6%; n = 81). Rhodamine-tagged DNA encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene binds avidly to spermatozoa. The rhodamine signal, while lost at the egg surface during in-vitro fertilization (IVF), is traced by dynamic imaging during ICSI and remains as a brilliant marker on the microinjected spermatozoa within the oocyte cytoplasm. The transgene is expressed in preimplantation embryos produced by ICSI, but not IVF, as early as the 4-cell stage with the number of expressing cells and the percentage of expressing embryos increasing during embryogenesis to the blastocyst stage. The three offspring that resulted from seven embryo transfers (a set of anatomically normal twins, one male and one female, stillborn 35 days premature, and a healthy male born at term) demonstrate that primate spermatozoa with exogenously bound DNA retain their full reproductive capacity in ICSI, but raise the concern that, theoretically, ICSI could transmit infectious material as well.

The implications of a paternally derived centrosome during human fertilization: consequences for reproduction and the treatment of male factor infertility.

PROBLEM: Successful fertilization in humans follows a complex series of events, including the completion of meiotic maturation of the oocyte with the extrusion of the second polar body, the decondensation of the sperm nucleus and the maternal chromosomes into male and female pronuclei, the restoration of the sperm centrosome, and the nucleation of microtubule-mediated motility necessary to bring the male and female pronuclei into close apposition. These events occur after both fertilization in vitro and after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a new technique which is currently being applied in many clinics to overcome severe male infertility. Defects in any of the events leading to fertilization can be lethal to the zygote and may prove to be causes of infertility. METHODS: Imaging of inseminated human and rhesus oocytes using immunohistochemical techniques reveals several phases at which fertilization arrests. RESULTS: Oocytes from some infertile patients failed to complete fertilization due to failure of the sperm aster microtubules in uniting the sperm and egg nuclei. The rate of sperm aster formation, size, and organization during fertilization has been used as a measurement of bovine sperm quality. The development of an assay using Xenopus laevis oocyte extract can also be used to test sperm from various species for their ability to form esters and perform other centrosomal functions in vitro, as well as another indicator of sperm quality. Semen from men with questionable fertility was found to contain sperm which are generally incapable of producing sperm asters. In addition, the activity of centrosomal proteins such as gamma-tubulin and centrin have been detected in mammalian eggs and sperm. The levels of gamma-tubulin increase markedly after exposure to X. laevis egg extract. CONCLUSION: Defects in either male or female nucleus decondensation also resulted in the arrest of fertilization and was found to occur in both inseminated human oocytes and in rhesus oocytes fertilized by ICSI. These discoveries on the molecular basis of infertility in humans have important implications for infertility diagnosis and managing reproduction.

Microtubule and chromatin configurations during rhesus intracytoplasmic sperm injection: successes and failures.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was performed on rhesus monkey oocytes, and the resultant microtubule and DNA configurations were imaged by laser-scanning confocal microscopy. In addition, polyspermic oocytes fertilized by ICSI were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Successful rhesus fertilization by ICSI revealed microtubule and DNA configurations similar to those observed during in vitro fertilization of human and rhesus monkey oocytes, including sperm aster formation, pronuclei decondensation, spindle formation, and cell division. Several abnormalities, however, were also observed: 1) inability to complete meiosis; 2) inability to undergo male or female pronucleus formation; 3) separation of the sperm tail from the sperm nucleus; 4) premature chromosome condensation with the formation of a paternal meiotic spindle; and 5) formation of multiple female pronuclei (karyomeres) during chromosome decondensation. TEM analysis revealed that sperm can undergo decondensation in the presence of an intact acrosome at least 18 h after sperm injection. These results demonstrate the utility of rhesus ICSI in pre-clinical applications as well as with endangered species. However, the different types of fertilization failures observed here indicate that although ICSI may be a readily accepted means of fertilization of human oocytes in many clinics, we should further characterize the cellular and genetic abnormalities associated with ICSI in both human and nonhuman primates.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection for Rhesus monkey fertilization results in unusual chromatin, cytoskeletal, and membrane events, but eventually leads to pronuclear development and sperm aster assembly.

The disassembly and reorganization of sperm-derived structures are landmarks for the onset of embryonic development. Since complete information on these events is not yet available, we examined the disassembly of the sperm axoneme, the formation of the sperm aster, and the decondensation and development of the male and female pronuclei in inseminated Rhesus monkey oocytes conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. During IVF, the spermatozoa lose their acrosomes after contacting the zona pellucida, and the plasma membrane and nuclear envelope disappear after fusion with the oolemma. Subsequently, a sperm aster of microtubules forms around the proximal centriole, which is bound to the sperm connecting piece. This process is then followed by the formation of both pronuclei, which single sperm centriole later duplicates and the bipolar mitotic apparatus is observed. Following sperm injection, the spermatozoa have both an intact plasma membrane and acrosome. Although the microtubules form the sperm aster in a fashion identical to that seen during IVF, the presence of an intact acrosome appears to be associated with a heterogeneity in the decondensation of sperm chromatin. While this may indicate an abnormal pattern of chromatin decondensation during the formation of the male pronucleus following sperm injection, the male pronucleus eventually fully decondenses, as during IVF. Sperm mitochondria are displaced as the sperm centriole is exposed. Annulate lamellae and a previously undescribed organelle which seems to contain annulate lamellae precursors, as well as maternal mitochondria, are found in association with the developing pronuclear envelopes. This information increases understanding of fertilization in primates, and may also be of significance for use in assisted human reproduction as well as in the preservation of endangered mammalian species. In addition, these results demonstrates the similarities between fertilization in Rhesus monkeys and humans, providing additional evidence for the use of this non-human primate as a model system in which to investigate the cellular and molecular biological basis of human reproduction.

Tracing the incorporation of the sperm tail in the mouse zygote and early embryo using an anti-testicular alpha-tubulin antibody.

The mechanism of sperm tail incorporation and the fate of the tail during mouse fertilization and early embryogenesis were examined. Time-lapse video microscopy and anti-tubulin immunofluorescence show that the incorporation of the sperm tail, but not the sperm head, is sensitive to cytochalasin B (a microfilament inhibitor). Colcemid, a microtubule inhibitor, does not affect tail incorporation. High-resolution, low-voltage scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the plasma membrane covering the sperm tail does not appear to fuse with the oocyte membrane during in vitro fertilization in the presence of cytochalasin. In control and colcemid-treated oocytes, the plasma membrane along the sperm tail, which is oriented tangential to the egg surfaces, appears to fuse with the oocyte membrane at multiple sites. An antibody to testicular alpha-tubulin detects sperm-derived, but not egg, microtubules and this has permitted us to trace the behavior and disappearance of the sperm tail during embryogenesis. Conventional and confocal microscopy show that following sperm incorporation, the tail often splays into multiple fibers. At the two-cell stage, the axoneme may be localized in either blastomere or it may be found to run through the midbody between both blastomeres. The tail appears to shorten by the 8-cell stage and is undetectable after the 16-32 cell stage. In morulae, tail fragments have been found in outer cells but not in inner ones, and fragments have not be found in blastocysts. These data suggest that microtubules of sperm and oocytes contain different isotypes of alpha-tubulin, nongenomic sperm-derived components survive at least to the morula stage of mouse development, and egg microfilaments are involved in the incorporation of the sperm tail but not the sperm head, which demonstrates that motility during sperm incorporation is different in mammals when compared to lower vertebrates and invertebrates.