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Emerging Concepts in Ion Channel Biophysics
Poster Abstracts
66
2-POS
Board 2
Subcellular localization of Zip3 and ZnT3 Zinc Transporters in Mouse Spermatogenic
Cells
Karla Lisette Andrade López
, Ignacio López González, Julio César Chávez Zamora, Paulina
Torres Rodríguez, Claudia L. Treviño Santa Cruz.
Biotechnology Institute, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
The physiological relevance of the micronutrient zinc during spermatogenesis has been reported
in different mammalians. Zinc ions are involved in the spermatogenic cells (SCs) growth and
development, chromatin condensation and modulation of oxidative stress in sperm and structural
maintenance of seminiferous tubules. Zinc deficiency reduces testosterone production, which is a
fundamental hormone for spermatogenesis; increases oxidative stress, seminiferous tubules
atrophy and inhibits spermatids differentiation. On the other hand, an excess of zinc has
detrimental effects on spermatogenesis, such as a decrease on sperm motility, arrest of SCs and
seminiferous tubules atrophy. Therefore, zinc homeostasis must be strictly regulated. To maintain
this homeostasis, two different types of zinc transporters are involved, the Zip and ZnT families.
The Zip family is composed of fourteen members involve in the entrance of zinc into the cell.
Meanwhile, the ZnT family include ten members responsible removing zinc from the cytoplasm.
In spite of the zinc physiological relevance in mouse SCs, little is known about the subcellular
distribution and the expression of zinc transporters in the different stages of mouse
spermatogenesis. In the present report, we immunodetected the presence of Zip3 and ZnT3
transporters in SCs. Our preliminary results suggest that Zip3 transport is mainly located at the
plasma membrane of different SCs types. On the contrary, ZnT3 distribution is preferentially
express in cytoplasm and intracellular organelles. Consistently with the Zip3 expression in the
plasma membrane we observed that extracellular addition of HCO3 [25 mM], a Zip3 modulator,
and ZnSO4 [100 µM] increased of intracellular zinc concentration in Fluozin-1-loaded SCs. In
conclusion, our preliminary results indicate the expression, at least, of Zip3 and ZnT3 zinc
transports in mouse SCs.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by DGAPA/UNAM: IN204914 to ILG, IN203116
to CT.