The SLO3 sperm-specific potassium channel plays a vital role in male fertility

Santi, Celia M.; Martínez-López, Pablo; de la Vega-Beltrán, José Luis; Butler, Alice; Alisio, Arturo; Darszon, Alberto; Salkoff, Lawrence

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2010.02.005

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Volume 584, Issue 5 , Pages 1041-1046, 5 March 2010

The SLO3 sperm-specific potassium channel plays a vital role in male fertility

Edited by Maurice Montal

Celia M. Santi
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis 63110, USA
- Corresponding author. Address: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid, Campus Box 8108, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Fax: +1 314 362 3446.
Pablo Martínez-López
- Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
José Luis de la Vega-Beltrán
- Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Alice Butler
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis 63110, USA
Arturo Alisio
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis 63110, USA
Alberto Darszon
- Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Lawrence Salkoff
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis 63110, USA

Received 29 January 2010; accepted 1 February 2010. published online 05 February 2010.

Abstract

Here we show a unique example of male infertility conferred by a gene knockout of the sperm-specific, pH-dependent SLO3 potassium channel. In striking contrast to wild-type sperm which undergo membrane hyperpolarization during capacitation, we found that SLO3 mutant sperm undergo membrane depolarization. Several defects in SLO3 mutant sperm are evident under capacitating conditions, including impaired motility, a bent “hairpin” shape, and failure to undergo the acrosome reaction (AR). The failure of AR is rescued by valinomycin which hyperpolarizes mutant sperm. Thus SLO3 is the principal potassium channel responsible for capacitation-induced hyperpolarization, and membrane hyperpolarization is crucial to the AR.

Keywords: SLO3, Capacitation, Sperm, Acrosome reaction