ABSTRACT
Reverse Cholesterol Transport or cholesterol efflux is part of an extensive plasma membrane remodelling process in spermatozoa that is imperative for fertilisation. For ram spermatozoa, sheep serum is well known to support in vitro fertilisation (IVF), but knowledge of its explicit role is limited. Though, it is postulated to elicit cholesterol efflux owing to the presence of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) that interact with transmembrane cholesterol transporters, such as ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI). In this study, we report that both sheep serum and HDLs were able to elicit cholesterol efflux alone by up to 20–40% (as measured by the BODIPY-cholesterol assay). Furthermore, when the antagonists glibenclamide and valspodar were used to inhibit the function of ABCA1 and SR-BI or ABCA1 alone, respectively, cholesterol efflux was only marginally reduced (8–15)%. Nevertheless, it is likely that in ram spermatozoa, a specific facilitated pathway of cholesterol efflux is involved in the interaction between cholesterol acceptors and transporters. Interestingly, exposure to HDLs also induced hyperactivated motility, another critical event required for successful fertilisation. Taken together, this study details the first report of the dual action of HDLs on ram spermatozoa, providing both an insight into the intricacy of events leading up to fertilisation in vivo as well as demonstrating the possible application of HDL supplementation in media for IVF.
Hepatic expression of scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) is a positive regulator of macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in vivo