Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 1K99HD122257-01

Study the impact of Bacterial Vaginosis toxins on mouse and human sperm function

NIH awarded $125,142 to Washington University for a project studying how bacterial vaginosis toxins affect sperm function and fertility using mouse models and human specimens.

Description

This project investigates how toxins produced by bacterial vaginosis (BV) bacteria interfere with sperm function and fertilization, using mouse models and human specimens. The research aims to define the molecular mechanisms of BV-induced sperm dysfunction and assess the in vivo consequences of BV toxins on fertility. The study hypothesizes that BV toxins impair sperm capacitation by dysregulating Ca2+ signaling, leading to impaired sperm hyperactivation and acrosomal exocytosis, disrupting sperm migration and fertilization. The project includes elucidating mechanisms of Ca2+ influx induced by LPS and VLY toxins, assessing in vivo sperm function in a mouse BV model, quantifying LPS and VLY in vaginal specimens from women with and without BV, and using a human vagina- and cervix-chip system to model BV-associated infertility.

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