TY - JOUR
T1 - X-Ray Fluorescence Microscopy Reveals the Role of Selenium in Spermatogenesis
AU - Kehr, Sebastian
AU - Malinouski, Mikalai
AU - Finney, Lydia
AU - Vogt, Stefan
AU - Labunskyy, Vyacheslav M.
AU - Kasaikina, Marina V.
AU - Carlson, Bradley A.
AU - Zhou, You
AU - Hatfield, Dolph L.
AU - Gladyshev, Vadim N.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Wayne Vogl for helpful discussion. We also thank Marcus Conrad for providing tissues from nGPx4 and mGPx4 knockout mice and Raymond Burk and Kristina Hill for tissues from SelP knockout mice. This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant GM065204 (to V.N.G.) and the Intramural Research Program of the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (to D.L.H.). Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.
PY - 2009/6/26
Y1 - 2009/6/26
N2 - Selenium (Se) is a trace element with important roles in human health. Several selenoproteins have essential functions in development. However, the cellular and tissue distribution of Se remains largely unknown because of the lack of analytical techniques that image this element with sufficient sensitivity and resolution. Herein, we report that X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) can be used to visualize and quantify the tissue, cellular, and subcellular topography of Se. We applied this technique to characterize the role of Se in spermatogenesis and identified a dramatic Se enrichment specifically in late spermatids, a pattern that was not seen in any other elemental maps. This enrichment was due to elevated levels of the mitochondrial form of glutathione peroxidase 4 and was fully dependent on the supplies of Se by selenoprotein P. High-resolution scans revealed that Se concentrated near the lumen side of elongating spermatids, where structural components of sperm are formed. During spermatogenesis, maximal Se associated with decreased phosphorus, whereas Zn did not change. In sperm, Se was primarily in the midpiece and colocalized with Cu and Fe. XFM allowed quantification of Se in the midpiece (0.8 fg) and head (0.2 fg) of individual sperm cells, revealing the ability of sperm cells to handle the amounts of this element well above its toxic levels. Overall, the use of XFM allowed visualization of tissue and cellular Se and provided important insights in the role of this and other trace elements in spermatogenesis.
AB - Selenium (Se) is a trace element with important roles in human health. Several selenoproteins have essential functions in development. However, the cellular and tissue distribution of Se remains largely unknown because of the lack of analytical techniques that image this element with sufficient sensitivity and resolution. Herein, we report that X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) can be used to visualize and quantify the tissue, cellular, and subcellular topography of Se. We applied this technique to characterize the role of Se in spermatogenesis and identified a dramatic Se enrichment specifically in late spermatids, a pattern that was not seen in any other elemental maps. This enrichment was due to elevated levels of the mitochondrial form of glutathione peroxidase 4 and was fully dependent on the supplies of Se by selenoprotein P. High-resolution scans revealed that Se concentrated near the lumen side of elongating spermatids, where structural components of sperm are formed. During spermatogenesis, maximal Se associated with decreased phosphorus, whereas Zn did not change. In sperm, Se was primarily in the midpiece and colocalized with Cu and Fe. XFM allowed quantification of Se in the midpiece (0.8 fg) and head (0.2 fg) of individual sperm cells, revealing the ability of sperm cells to handle the amounts of this element well above its toxic levels. Overall, the use of XFM allowed visualization of tissue and cellular Se and provided important insights in the role of this and other trace elements in spermatogenesis.
KW - X-ray fluorescence microscopy
KW - male reproduction
KW - selenium
KW - spermatogenesis
KW - trace elements
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67349150001&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67349150001&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.04.024
DO - 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.04.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 19379757
AN - SCOPUS:67349150001
SN - 0022-2836
VL - 389
SP - 808
EP - 818
JO - Journal of Molecular Biology
JF - Journal of Molecular Biology
IS - 5
ER -