Pregnancy Achievement by Medical Assisted Reproduction Is Correlated to the G Protein-Coupled Receptor 30 mRNA Abundance in Human Spermatozoa

oleh: Sara C. Pereira, Inês F. Esperança, Soraia Pinto, Alberto Barros, Mário Sousa, Marco G. Alves, Pedro F. Oliveira

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-03-01

Deskripsi

Estrogens, specifically 17β-estradiol (E2), play an important role in male health, including male fertility. The G protein-coupled receptor for estrogen 30 (<i>GPR30</i>) is essential for mediating the rapid non-genomic effects of E2 on a variety of testicular cells, including spermatozoa, although its molecular effects remain largely unknown. In this work, we hypothesized that the <i>GPR30</i> mRNA abundance in spermatozoa could be correlated to sperm quality. Sperm <i>GPR30</i> mRNA could also be carried into the oocyte, potentially impacting embryo development and the success of a pregnancy. For this study, 81 sperm samples were collected from couples seeking fertility treatment and undergoing medically assisted reproduction treatments (ART), following the World Health Organization guidelines. <i>GPR30</i> mRNA abundance in spermatozoa was assessed with a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The resulting data show that there is no correlation between the abundance of the <i>GPR30</i> transcript with paternal BMI, age, or sperm quality parameters. Interestingly, we observed that higher levels of <i>GPR30</i> mRNA abundance in spermatozoa were related to the achievement of biochemical pregnancy and clinical pregnancy (<i>p</i> < 0.05) by couples undergoing treatment. These results highlight the role of the sperm’s RNA cargo in offspring development, suggesting that spermatozoa mRNA content can influence ART success.