Establishment of adequate levels of sialylation is crucial for sperm survival and function after insemination; however, the mechanism for the addition of the sperm sialome has not been identified. Here, we report evidence for several different mechanisms that contribute to the establishment of the mature sperm sialome. Directly quantifying the source of the nucleotide sugar CMP-beta-N-acetylneuraminic acid in epididymal fluid indicates that transsialylation occurs in the upper epididymis. Western blots for the low-molecular-mass sialoglycoprotein (around 20–50 kDa) in C57BL/6 mice epididymal fluid reflect that additional sialome could be obtained by glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored sialoglycopeptide incorporation during epididymal transit in the caput of the epididymis. Additionally, we found that in Cmah (CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase)−/− transgenic mice, epididymal sperm obtained sialylated-CD52 from seminal vesicle fluid (SVF). Finally, we used Gfp (green fluorescent protein)+/+ mouse sperm to test the role of sialylation on sperm for protection from female leukocyte attack. There is very low phagocytosis of the epididymal sperm when compared to that of sperm coincubated with SVF. Treating sperm with Arthrobacter ureafaciens sialidase (AUS) increased phagocytosis even further. Our results highlight the different mechanisms of increasing sialylation, which lead to the formation of the mature sperm sialome, as well as reveal the sialome's function in sperm survival within the female genital tract.

HUWE1 is a HECT domain containing ubiquitin ligase implicated in neurogenesis, spermatogenesis and cancer development. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the role of HUWE1 in early embryo development. Here we demonstrate that Huwe1 is expressed in both nucleus and cytoplasm of preimplantation mouse embryos as well as gametes. Hypoxia (5% O₂) treatment could significantly increase Huwe1 expression during mouse embryo development process. HUWE1 knockdown inhibited normal embryonic development and reduced blastocyst formation, and increased apoptotic cell numbers were observed in the embryos of HUWE1 knockdown group. Human embryo staining result showed that reduced HUWE1 staining was observed in the poor-quality embryos. Furthermore, Western blot result showed that significantly reduced expression of HUWE1 was observed in the villi of miscarriage embryos compared with the normal control, indicating that reduced expression of HUWE1 is related to poor embryo development. Oxidative reagent, H₂O₂ inhibited HUWE1 expression in human sperm, indicating that HUWE1 expression in sperm is regulated by oxidative stress. In conclusion, these results suggest that HUWE1 protein could contribute to preimplantation embryo development and dysregulated expression of HUWE1 could be related to poor embryo development and miscarriage in IVF clinic.

Selectins are a family of calcium-dependent, type I transmembrane, carbohydrate-binding glycoproteins. Selectins and their ligands are not only involved in physiological processes such as leukocyte homing and pathological processes such as cancer, but also play an essential role in the human implantation. L-selectin and its ligands participate in the adhesion of the blastocyst to the endometrium at the maternal–fetal interface. P-selectin and E-selectin are involved in immune recognition of maternal decidua to the embedded embryo as well as trophoblast migration within decidual spiral arterioles. Moreover, altered expression of selectins and their ligands are found to be associated with some abnormal pregnancies and infertilities. This review focuses on the current progress of research on the role of selectins and their ligands in the human implantation process.

探究粒细胞集落刺激因子（granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, G-CSF）宫腔灌注对薄型子宫内膜患者内膜厚度、容积、血流参数及临床结局的影响。 本研究为前瞻性非随机同期对照试验，将2021年9月1日至2023年9月1日于绵阳市中心医院生殖中心行冻胚移植（frozen-thawed embryo transfer, FET）的薄型子宫内膜患者，分为实验组（行G-CSF宫腔灌注）和对照组（未行G-CSF宫腔灌注）。将两组患者的一般资料和临床结局进行统计分析，将实验组患者G-CSF灌注前后的内膜厚度、容积及血流参数进行统计分析。 共纳入83例患者，实验组51例，对照组32例，两组患者基线资料无明显差异。实验组患者临床妊娠率（56.86%）高于对照组（50.00%），自然流产率（27.59%）低于对照组（37.50%），但差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。实验组患者G-CSF宫腔灌注后的内膜厚度〔（0.67±0.1） cm〕大于灌注前〔（0.59±0.09） cm〕，灌注后的子宫内膜容积〔（1.84±0.81） cm³〕大于灌注前〔（1.54±0.69） cm³〕，灌注后的VFI（1.97±2.82）大于灌注前（0.99±1.04），差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。 宫腔灌注G-CSF可改善薄型子宫内膜患者的内膜厚度、容积及部分血流参数。