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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on April 16, 2007
Human Reproduction 2007 22(6):1617-1625; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem069
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A role for tachykinins in the regulation of human sperm motility

C.G. Ravina1,2, M. Seda1, F.M. Pinto1, A. Orea1, M. Fernández-Sánchez2, C.O. Pintado3 and M.Luz Candenas1,4

1 Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas, CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, 49 Americo Vespucio Ave, 41092 Sevilla, Spain 2 Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, 58 Republica Argentina Ave, 41011 Sevilla, Spain 3 Centro de Producción y Experimentación Animal, Universidad de Sevilla, Espartinas, 41807 Sevilla, Spain

4 Correspondence address. Tel: +34-95-4489565; Fax: +34-95-4460565; E-mail: luzcandenas{at}iiq.csic.es

BACKGROUND: Tachykinins and tachykinin receptors are widely distributed in the male reproductive tract and appear to be involved in reproduction. However, the function and expression of tachykinins and their receptors in human spermatozoa remain poorly studied. We analysed the effects of tachykinins on sperm motility and characterized the population of tachykinin receptors in human spermatozoa.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Motility analysis was performed following World Health Organization guidelines and we found that substance P (SP), human hemokinin-1 (hHK-1), neurokinin A (NKA) and neurokinin B (NKB) produced concentration-dependent increases in sperm progressive motility. The effects of tachykinins were antagonized by the NK1 receptor-selective antagonist SR 140333, the NK2 receptor-selective antagonist, SR 48968 and, to a lesser extent, also by the NK3 receptor-selective antagonist SR 142801. Immunocytochemistry studies showed expression of the NK1, NK2 and NK3 tachykinin receptor proteins in spermatozoa with different major sites of localization for each receptor. Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of tachykinin receptors in sperm cell homogenates. RT–PCR demonstrated expression of the genes that encode SP/NKA (TAC1), NKB (TAC3) and hHK-1 (TAC4) but not the genes TACR1, TACR2 and TACR3 encoding NK1, NK2 and NK3 receptors, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: These results show for the first time that the NK1, NK2 and NK3 tachykinin receptor proteins are present in human spermatozoa. Our findings suggest that tachykinins, probably acting through these three tachykinin receptors, play a role in the regulation of human sperm motility.

Key words: human sperm/mRNA expression/tachykinins/tachykinin receptors

Submitted on December 12, 2006; resubmitted on February 15, 2007; accepted on February 22, 2007.


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