Isolation and identification of Concanavalin A binding
glycoproteins from human seminal plasma: A step towards identification of male
infertility marker proteins
Affiliations: Department of Biophysics, All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India | Department of Biotechnology, Punjabi University,
Patiala, India | School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi, India | Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute
of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Note: [] Corresponding author: Savita Yadav, Additional Professor,
Department of Biophysics, All India Institute of Medical sciences, New Delhi
110029, India. E-mail: savita11@gmail.com
Abstract: Human seminal plasma contains a large array of proteins of clinical
importance which are essentially needed to maintain the reproductive physiology
of spermatozoa and for successful fertilization. Thus, isolation and
identification of seminal plasma proteins is of paramount significance for
their biophysical characterization and functional analysis in reproductive
physiological processes. In this study, we have isolated Concanavalin-A binding
glycoproteins from human seminal plasma and subsequently identified them by
MALDI-TOF/MS analysis. The major proteins, as identified in this study, are
Aminopeptidase N, lactoferrin, prostatic acid phosphatase,
zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, prostate specific antigen, progestagen-associated
endometrial protein, Izumo sperm-egg fusion protein and prolactin inducible
protein. This paper also reports preliminary studies to identify altered
expression of these proteins in oligospermia and azoospermia in comparison to
normospermia. In oligospermia, five proteins were found to be downregulated
while in azoospermia, four proteins were downregulated and two proteins were
upregulated. Thus, this study is of immense biomedical interest towards
identification of potential male infertility marker proteins in seminal plasma.
Keywords: Azoospermia, glycoproteins, lectin affinity chromatography, male infertility, oligospermia
