Loss of Profilin3 Impairs Spermiogenesis by Affecting Acrosome Biogenesis, Autophagy, Manchette Development and Mitochondrial Organization

Profilins (PFNs) are key regulatory proteins for the actin polymerization in cells and are encoded in mouse and humans by four Pfn genes. PFNs are involved in cell mobility, cell growth, neurogenesis, and metastasis of tumor cells. The testes-specific PFN3 is localized in the acroplaxome-manchette complex of developing spermatozoa. We demonstrate that PFN3 further localizes in the Golgi complex and proacrosomal vesicles during spermiogenesis, suggesting a role in vesicle transport for acrosome formation. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we generated mice deficient for Pfn3. Pfn3-/- males are subfertile, displaying a type II globozoospermia. We revealed that Pfn3-/- sperm display abnormal manchette development leading to an amorphous sperm head shape. Additionally, Pfn3-/- sperm showed reduced sperm motility resulting from flagellum deformities. We show that acrosome biogenesis is impaired starting from the Golgi phase, and mature sperm seems to suffer from a cytoplasm removal defect. An RNA-seq analysis revealed an upregulation of Trim27 and downregulation of Atg2a. As a consequence, mTOR was activated and AMPK was suppressed, resulting in the inhibition of autophagy. This dysregulation of AMPK/mTOR affected the autophagic flux, which is hallmarked by LC3B accumulation and increased SQSTM1 protein levels. Autophagy is involved in proacrosomal vesicle fusion and transport to form the acrosome. We conclude that this disruption leads to the observed malformation of the acrosome. TRIM27 is associated with PFN3 as determined by co-immunoprecipitation from testis extracts. Further, actin-related protein ARPM1 was absent in the nuclear fraction of Pfn3-/- testes and sperm. This suggests that lack of PFN3 leads to destabilization of the PFN3-ARPM1 complex, resulting in the degradation of ARPM1. Interestingly, in the Pfn3-/- testes, we detected increased protein levels of essential actin regulatory proteins, cofilin-1 (CFL1), cofilin-2 (CFL2), and actin depolymerizing factor (ADF). Taken together, our results reveal the importance for PFN3 in male fertility and implicate this protein as a candidate for male factor infertility in humans.

Light irradiation tuning of surface wettability, optical, and electric properties of graphene oxide thin films

In this work the preparation of flexible polymeric films with controlled electrical conductivity, light transmission and surface wettability is reported. A drop casted graphene oxide thin film is photo-reduced at different levels by UV light or laser irradiation. Optical microscopy, IR spectroscopy, electrical characterization, Raman spectroscopy and static water contact angle measurements are used in order to characterize the effects of the various reduction methods. Correlations between the optical, electrical and structural properties are reported and compared to previous literature results. These correlations provide a useful tool for independently tuning the properties of these films for specific applications.

Antitussive activity of some naturally occurring cannabinoids in anesthetized cats

Experimental cough was elicited in pentobarbital-anesthetized cats by either electrical stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve or by mechanical stimulation of the tracheal mucosa. Intravenous administration of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) effectively reduced the amplitude of the cough response in both these models of experimentally induced cough with ED50 values (AtD50) of 1.84 and 0.78 mg/kg, respectively. This cough suppressant activity of THC was more similar to codeine-PO4 than dextromethorphan-HBr. On the other hand, both cannabinol (CBN) and cannabidiol (CBD) were devoid of antitussive activity at doses as high as 10.0 mg/kg.