Comparison of RNA content from hydrophobic interaction chromatography-isolated seminal plasma exosomes from intrauterine insemination (IUI) pregnancies.

Male factors account for roughly half of infertility cases, with most male infertility diagnosed as idiopathic. Researchers predicting intrauterine insemination success rates have identified multiple prognostic factors, including semen parameters and seminal fluid composition. Seminal plasma contains extracellular exosomes, which contain RNAs and proteins involved in spermatogenesis. The contents of seminal plasma exosomes may be an indicator of overall sperm quality or fertility potential; therefore, analysis of exosomes may provide a measure for sperm viability and fertilization potential. In our study, exosomes were isolated and purified from seminal plasma obtained from IUI treatments with known pregnancy outcomes. We used a unique method to isolate the exosomes which made use of the hydrophobic interaction chromatography method. RNASeq was performed on RNAs from the purified exosomes. This analysis revealed holistic trends, including increased expression associated with RNA originating from chromosomes 1, 10, 12, 16 and 21. Overall, total RNA was significantly decreased and rRNA was significantly increased in successful IUI attempts. Furthermore, we found specific mRNAs and lincRNAs associated with positive versus negative pregnancy outcomes. Our study isolated and purified seminal plasma exosomes without ultracentrifugation, and it provides further evidence for differences in seminal plasma exosome molecular contents associated with pregnancy status.

Andrologia. 2021 Nov 27 [Epub ahead of print]

Arnav Lal, James Frederick W Pike, Emily L Polley, Sisi Huang, Mustapha Sanni, Tareq Hailat, Shawn Zimmerman, Alyssa Clay-Gilmour, Terri F Bruce, Kenneth R Marcus, William E Roudebush, Renee J Chosed

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina, USA., Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA., VIOS Fertility Institute, Swansea, Illinois, USA., Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, USA., Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA.