Differential proteomic profiling in human spermatozoa that did or did not result in pregnancy via IVF and AID

TLDR: To identify biochemical markers in men with idiopathic infertility and normal sperm counts, data are analyzed through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 351 biochemical markers found in serum samples from men with and without infertility.

Abstract: Experimental design: We obtained proteomic profiling proteins in human spermatozoa following successful or unsuccessful pregnancy via assisted reproductive technique (ART) using 6-plex tandem mass tag (TMT) isobaric MS. Our study design consisted of two groups: (i) The semen of six men whose sperm resulted in a clinical pregnancy following ART and (ii) six men whose semen did not result in a clinical pregnancy following ART. The results of differentiated MS were validated by Western blotting. Results and discussion: A total of 2045 proteins were detected in our cohort. Twenty-one proteins were found to be differentially expressed (>1.2-fold) between Group 1 and Group 2. Using the results of bioinformatics analysis and Western blotting, three proteins (A2LD1, ATP1B3, and FBXO2) were shown to have the same differential pattern (p < 0.05) that was observed in the MS analysis. Conclusions and clinical relevance: Proteomics may help identity a select cohort of men with normal semen parameters and aid infertility diagnoses.