3^rd Glycobiology World Congress

Biography

Biography: Mirosława Ferens-Sieczkowska

Abstract

Conception problems affect about 15% of couples in developed countries. A male factor is considered crucial or co-existing in at least half of these cases, but evaluation of the reasons of male decreased reproductive potential is fairly not sufficient. Andrologists claim urgently for  reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as molecular targets for potential treatments. Considering the importance of carbohydrate-protein interactions in different aspects of fertilization, also male infertility becomes a field of interest for glycobiology. Interestingly, both sperm and seminal plasma glycomes of fertile men contain substantial amounts of immunomodulatory glycoepitopes, usually rare in normal body fluids. These motifs include LeX, bisecting GlcNAc, and high-mannose type glycans.  It has been hypothesized that this unusual glycosylation profile is engaged in receiving maternal immune privilege during fertilization and pregnancy. If this hypothesis is true,  at least some cases of infertility may be related to incorrect glycosylation patterns within male reproductive tract. Our research is thus focused on the comparison of seminal plasma glycomes of fertile and infertile male subjects. Although we have found significant alterations in fucosylation, sialylation and high-mannose glycan content, these results are still far from diagnostically valuable conclusions. The main challenge is the  complexity of seminal plasma, consisting of  secretions of  testes, epididymis and different accessory glands. Some experimental data suggest that their glycosylation pathways are not necessarily identical. Regarding also extreme inter-individual variability, it seems that successful search for infertility glyco-biomarkers requires careful selection of candidate glycoproteins, representing particular parts of male reproductive tract.