In Vitro fertilization failure of normozoospermic men: search for a lack of testicular isozyme of angiotensin-converting enzyme

Selima Fourati Ben Mustapha (1) , Florence Coulet (2) , Mélanie Eyries (2) , Vanina de Larouziere (3) , Celia Ravel (3) , Isabelle Berthaut (3) , Jean-Marie Antoine , Florent Soubrier (2) , Jacqueline Mandelbaum (3)

1 CPSR - Clinique de Promotion des Sciences de la Reproduction [Tunis]
2 Génétique épidémiologique et moléculaire des pathologies cardiovasculaires
3 CHU Tenon [AP-HP]

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is a metalloprotease with two isoforms. The somatic isoform is a key component of the renin-angiotensin system; its main function is to hydrolyse angiotensin I into angiotensin II. The germinal or testicular isoform (tACE) located at the plasma membrane of the spermatozoa, plays a crucial role in the spermatozoa-oocyte interaction during in vivo fertilization, in rodents. Disruption of the tACE in mice has revealed that homozygous male tACE −/− sire few pups despite mating normally. Few spermatozoa from these tACE −/− mice are bound to the zona pellucida (ZP) despite normal semen parameters. Based on these findings in mice models, we hypothesized that some infertile men that have the same phenotype as the tACE −/− mice, ie normal semen parameters and a lack of sperm bind to the ZP in vitro, may have a tACE defect.

Domaines: Biochimie, Biologie Moléculaire

Selima Fourati Ben Mustapha, Florence Coulet, Mélanie Eyries, Vanina de Larouziere, Celia Ravel, et al.. In Vitro fertilization failure of normozoospermic men: search for a lack of testicular isozyme of angiotensin-converting enzyme. Basic and Clinical Andrology, 2013, 23 (1), pp.4. ⟨pasteur-00856332⟩