Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/190796
Title: Insights into the sperm chromatin and implications for male infertility from a protein perspective
Author: de la Iglesia Rodriguez, Alberto
Jodar Bifet, Meritxell
Oliva Virgili, Rafael
Castillo Corullón, Judit
Keywords: Espermatozoides
Esterilitat masculina
Epigenètica
Cromatina
Proteïnes
Spermatozoa
Male sterility
Epigenetics
Chromatin
Proteins
Issue Date: 1-Oct-2022
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Abstract: Male germ cells undergo an extreme but fascinating process of chromatin remodeling that begins in the testis during the last phase of spermatogenesis and continues through epididymal sperm maturation. Most of the histones are replaced by small proteins named protamines, whose high basicity leads to a tight genomic compaction. This process is epigenetically regulated at many levels, not only by posttranslational modifications, but also by readers, writers, and erasers, in a context of a highly coordinated postmeiotic gene expression program. Protamines are key proteins for acquiring this highly specialized chromatin conformation, needed for sperm functionality. Interestingly, and contrary to what could be inferred from its very specific DNA-packaging function across protamine-containing species, human sperm chromatin contains a wide spectrum of protamine proteoforms, including truncated and posttranslationally modified proteoforms. The generation of protamine knock-out models revealed not only chromatin compaction defects, but also collateral sperm alterations contributing to infertile phenotypes, evidencing the importance of sperm chromatin protamination toward the generation of a new individual. The unique features of sperm chromatin have motivated its study, applying from conventional to the most ground-breaking techniques to disentangle its peculiarities and the cellular mechanisms governing its successful conferment, especially relevant from the protein point of view due to the important epigenetic role of sperm nuclear proteins. Gathering and contextualizing the most striking discoveries will provide a global understanding of the importance and complexity of achieving a proper chromatin compaction and exploring its implications on postfertilization events and beyond. This article is categorized under: Reproductive System Diseases > Genetics/Genomics/Epigenetics Reproductive System Diseases > Molecular and Cellular Physiology.
Note: Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.1588
It is part of: WIREs Mechanisms of Disease, 2022, p. 1-31
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/190796
Related resource: https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.1588
ISSN: 2692-9368
Appears in Collections:Articles publicats en revistes (IDIBAPS: Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer)
Articles publicats en revistes (Biomedicina)

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