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. 2022 May-Jun;24(3):260-265.
doi: 10.4103/aja2021111.

Sperm-specific protein ACTL7A as a biomarker for fertilization outcomes of assisted reproductive technology

Tian-Ying Yang  1 , Ying Chen  1 , Guo-Wu Chen  1 , Yi-Si Sun  2 , Zhi-Chao Li  1 , Xiao-Rong Shen  2 , Yi-Ni Zhang  1 , Wen He  1 , Dan Zhou  1 , Hui-Juan Shi  2 , Ai-Jie Xin  2 , Xiao-Xi Sun  1   3   4
Affiliations

Sperm-specific protein ACTL7A as a biomarker for fertilization outcomes of assisted reproductive technology

Tian-Ying Yang et al. Asian J Androl. 2022 May-Jun.

Abstract

Obtaining high-quality embryos is one of the key factors to improve the clinical pregnancy rate of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). So far, the clinical evaluation of embryo quality depends on embryo morphology. However, the clinical pregnancy rate is still low. Therefore, new indicators are needed to further improve the evaluation of embryo quality. Several studies have shown that the decrease of sperm-specific protein actin-like 7A (ACTL7A) leaded to low fertilization rate, poor embryo development, and even infertility. The aim of this study was to study whether the different expression levels of ACTL7A on sperm can be used as a biomarker for predicting embryo quality. In this study, excluding the factors of severe female infertility, a total of 281 sperm samples were collected to compare the ACTL7A expression levels of sperms with high and low effective embryo rates and analyze the correlation between protein levels and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory outcomes. Our results indicated that the ACTL7A levels were significantly reduced in sperm samples presenting poor embryo quality. Furthermore, the protein levels showed a significant correlation with fertilization outcomes of ART. ACTL7A has the potential to be a biomarker for predicting success rate of fertilization and effective embryo and the possibility of embryo arrest. In conclusion, sperm-specific protein ACTL7A has a strong correlation with IVF laboratory outcomes and plays important roles in fertilization and embryo development.

Keywords: actin-like 7A; assisted reproductive technology; biomarker; embryo quality; fertilization outcomes; in-vitro.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The localization of ACTL7A protein in human sperm. Western blotting of the extracted acrosome and PT protein of human sperm. The whole sperm protein was used as a positive control. Acrosome-specific protein acrosin was detected in the acrosome and WS. ACTL7A and PAWP were localized in PT and WS. ACTL7A: actin-like 7A; PT: perinuclear theca; WS: whole sperm; PAWP: postacrosomal sheath WW domain-binding protein.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ACTL7A expression of sperm samples with low and high effective embryo rate. (a) Immunofluorescence with different ACTL7A expression levels in low and high effective embryo rate samples. Green signals represent the signals of ACTL7A and blue signals marked the nucleus by Hoechst33342. Weak signal intensity of ACTL7A were shown in lower samples, while higher samples manifested bright ACTL7A signals in the PT beneath the acrosome. (b) The histogram of gated sperm population of samples with low (n = 5, in blue) and high (n = 5, in red) effective embryo rate. The negative control (in gray) was incubated with preimmune serum. (c) Corresponding western blotting for ACTL7A of samples with low (n = 5) and high (n = 5) effective embryo rate. ACTL7A: actin-like 7A; PT: perinuclear theca.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Difference of ACTL7A expression between sperm with low and high IVF laboratory outcomes. (a) Fertilization rate (**P < 0.0001), (b) effective embryo rate (**P < 0.0001), (c) high-quality embryo rate (*P < 0.01), and (d) embryonic arrest rate (**P < 0.0001) are shown. ACTL7A: actin-like 7A; IVF: in-vitro fertilization.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation of ACTL7A expression between sperm with low and high IVF laboratory outcomes. The linear regression model of ACTL7A expression level and early embryo quality parameters fitted from scatter plots. ACTL7A expression level is correlated with (a) fertilization rate (r2 = 0.091, P < 0.001), (b) effective embryo rate (r2 = 0.062, P < 0.001), (c) high-quality embryo rate (r2 = 0.040, P = 0.01), and (d) embryonic arrest rate (r2 = 0.084, P < 0.001). ACTL7A: actin-like 7A; IVF: in-vitro fertilization.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Evaluation of sperm ACTL7A being biomarker for predicting IVF laboratory outcomes. ACTL7A expression level can be the prediction biomarker of (a) fertilization rate (AUC = 0.913) and (b) effective embryo rate (AUC = 0.753). ACTL7A cannot fully predict (c) high-quality embryo rate since AUC < 0.7 (AUC = 0.640), but could predict (d) embryonic arrest rate (AUC = 0.733). AUC: area under curve; ACTL7A: actin-like 7A; IVF: in-vitro fertilization; s.e.m.: standard error of mean.
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