Phospholipase Cζ Rescues Failed Oocyte Activation in a Prototype of Male Factor Infertility

Objective: To determine the effect of infertility-linked sperm phospholipase Cζ (PLCζ) mutations on their ability to trigger oocyte Ca(2+) oscillations and development, and also to evaluate the potential therapeutic utility of wild-type, recombinant PLCζ protein for rescuing failed oocyte activation and embryo development.

Design: Test of a novel therapeutic approach to male factor infertility.

Setting: University medical school research laboratory.

Patient(s): Donated unfertilized human oocytes from follicle reduction.

Intervention(s): Microinjection of oocytes with recombinant human PLCζ protein or PLCζ cRNA and a Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent dye.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Measurement of the efficacy of mutant and wild-type PLCζ-mediated enzyme activity, oocyte Ca(2+) oscillations, activation, and early embryo development.

Result(s): In contrast to the wild-type protein, mutant forms of human sperm PLCζ display aberrant enzyme activity and a total failure to activate unfertilized oocytes. Subsequent microinjection of recombinant human PLCζ protein reliably triggers the characteristic pattern of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) oscillations at fertilization, which are required for normal oocyte activation and successful embryo development to the blastocyst stage.

Conclusion(s): Dysfunctional sperm PLCζ cannot trigger oocyte activation and results in male factor infertility, so a potential therapeutic approach is oocyte microinjection of active, wild-type PLCζ protein. We have demonstrated that recombinant human PLCζ can phenotypically rescue failed activation in oocytes that express dysfunctional PLCζ, and that this intervention culminates in efficient blastocyst formation.