Intracellular signaling cascades induced by relaxin in the stimulation of capacitation and acrosome reaction in fresh and frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa

Relaxin is one of the 6-kDa peptide hormones, which acts as a pleiotropic endocrine and paracrine factor. Our previous studies revealed that sperm capacitating medium containing relaxin induced capacitation and acrosome reaction (AR) in fresh and frozen-thawed porcine or bovine spermatozoa. However, the intracellular signaling cascades involved with capacitation or AR induced by relaxin was unknown. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the intracellular signaling cascades involved with capacitation and AR induced by relaxin in fresh and frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa. Spermatozoa were incubated in sperm Tyrode's albumin lactate pyruvate (Sp-TALP) medium supplemented with (40 ng ml−1) or without relaxin, and subjected to evaluation of chlortetracycline staining pattern, cholesterol efflux, Ca2+-influx, intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Capacitation and AR were increased (P < 0.05) in both fresh and frozen-thawed spermatozoa incubated with relaxin. Cholesterol effluxes were greater in the fresh (P < 0.01) and frozen-thawed (P < 0.05) spermatozoa incubated with relaxin than the spermatozoa incubated without relaxin. Ca2+-influxes were also significantly stimulated by relaxin in the fresh (P < 0.01) and frozen-thawed (P < 0.05) spermatozoa. The Sp-TALP medium containing relaxin influenced the generation of intracellular cAMP in the fresh (P < 0.01) and frozen-thawed (P < 0.05) spermatozoa, and exhibited higher exposure of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in both sperm types than the medium devoid of relaxin. Therefore, the results postulate that relaxin exerts the intracellular signaling cascades involved with capacitation and AR through accelerating the cholesterol efflux, Ca2+-influx, intracellular cAMP and protein tyrosine phosphorylation in fresh and frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa.