# Potential Proteins Associated with Canine Epididymal Sperm Motility

## TL;DR

This study identifies proteins linked to sperm motility in dogs, which could help improve assisted reproduction techniques.

## Contribution

The study identifies Ce10 and NPC2 as potential biomarkers for canine epididymal sperm motility.

## Key findings

- Protein profiles differ significantly between good and poor motility sperm groups.
- Ce10 and NPC2 show significantly higher abundance in good motility sperm samples.
- PCA explains 88.1% of the variance in protein profiles between motility groups.

## Abstract

What are the main findings?
Dog epididymal sperm with differing progressive motility exhibit unique protein profile signatures.Ce10 and NPC2 differed significantly between good and poor sperm motility groups and may serve as motility-related sperm proteins.

Dog epididymal sperm with differing progressive motility exhibit unique protein profile signatures.

Ce10 and NPC2 differed significantly between good and poor sperm motility groups and may serve as motility-related sperm proteins.

What are the implications of the main findings?
A comprehensive analysis of the protein components of epididymal sperm in relation to their functional features may serve to select protein markers of epididymal semen quality.Ce10 and NPC2 emerge as promising candidates for molecular biomarkers associated with canine epididymal sperm motility.

A comprehensive analysis of the protein components of epididymal sperm in relation to their functional features may serve to select protein markers of epididymal semen quality.

Ce10 and NPC2 emerge as promising candidates for molecular biomarkers associated with canine epididymal sperm motility.

The maturation and motility of epididymal sperm (ES) cells are largely driven by changes in protein expression. This study aimed to analyze the proteomic profile of canine (Canis lupus familiaris) ES across groups characterized by different progressive motility (PMOT) values to identify motility-related sperm proteins (MRSPs). ES were obtained from the epididymal semen of 19 dogs. The motility and movement parameters of ejaculated sperm (ES) were evaluated using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Samples were classified into two groups: good sperm motility (GSM), defined as PMOT% ≥ 55%, and poor sperm motility (PSM), defined as PMOT < 55%. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the first two components could explain 88.1% of the total variance between the GSM and PSM groups. Protein profiling of ES was performed using NanoUPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Significant statistical differences were demonstrated between the GSM and PSM groups for the TMOT (p = 0.039) and PMOT (p < 0.001). For five common proteins, their abundance was estimated to be higher in the GSM group than in the PSM group: ACTB (p = 0.2732), CRISP2 (p = 0.1558), LTF (p = 0.2661) and significantly higher: ce10 (p = 0.009) and NPC2 (p < 0.0044). These findings may be used to develop diagnostic MRSP-based tests related to ES quality in assisted reproduction techniques in dogs.