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Volume 17, Issue 2 (March 2015) 17, 292–297; 10.4103/1008-682X.143314
An epididymis-specific carboxyl esterase CES5A is required for sperm capacitation and male fertility in the rat
Yan-Fei Ru1, Hai-Min Xue2, Zi-Mei Ni3, Dong Xia2, Yu-Chuan Zhou3, Yong-Lian Zhang4
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
2Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
3Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
4Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, China
Correspondence: Yong-Lian Zhang
28 Nov 2014
| Abstract |
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Despite the fact that the phenomenon of capacitation was discovered over half century ago and much progress has been made in identifying sperm events involved in capacitation, few specific molecules of epididymal origin have been identified as being directly involved in this process in vivo. Previously, our group cloned and characterized a carboxyl esterase gene Ces5a in the rat epididymis. The CES5A protein is mainly expressed in the corpus and cauda epididymidis and secreted into the corresponding lumens. Here, we report the function of CES5A in sperm maturation. By local injection of Lentivirus-mediated siRNA in the CES5A-expressing region of the rat epididymis, Ces5a-knockdown animal models were created. These animals exhibited an inhibited sperm capacitation and a reduction in male fertility. These results suggest that CES5A plays an important role in sperm maturation and male fertility.
Keywords: carboxylesterase; CES5A; epididymis; male fertility; sperm capacitation
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