An oviduct glycan increases sperm lifespan by diminishing the production of ubiquinone and reactive oxygen species

Jennifer R Hughes, Katie J McMorrow, Nicolai Bovin, David J Miller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Sperm storage by females after mating for species-dependent periods is used widely among animals with internal fertilization to allow asynchrony between mating and ovulation. Many mammals store sperm in the lower oviduct where specific glycans on oviduct epithelial cells retain sperm to form a reservoir. Binding to oviduct cells suppresses sperm intracellular Ca2+ and increases sperm longevity. We investigated the mechanisms by which a specific oviduct glycan, 3-O-sulfated Lewis X trisaccharide (suLeX), prolongs the lifespan of porcine sperm. Using targeted metabolomics, we found that binding to suLeX diminishes the abundance of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, the precursor to ubiquinone (also known as Coenzyme Q), 30 min after addition. Ubiquinone functions as an electron acceptor in the electron transport chain (ETC). 3-O-sulfated Lewis X trisaccharide also suppressed the formation of fumarate. A component of the citric acid cycle, fumarate is synthesized by succinate-coenzyme Q reductase, which employs ubiquinone and is also known as Complex II in the ETC. Consistent with the reduced activity of the ETC, the production of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) was diminished. The enhanced sperm lifespan in the oviduct may be because of suppressed ROS production because high ROS concentrations have toxic effects on sperm.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)356-366
Number of pages11
JournalBiology of reproduction
Volume109
Issue number3
Early online dateJul 10 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 12 2023

Keywords

  • electron transport chain
  • glycans
  • metabolism
  • oviduct
  • reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • sperm reservoir
  • ubiquinone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Reproductive Medicine

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