Characterization and activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in Holstein semen

The study was designed to perform immunodetection in spermatozoa and seminal plasma, immunolocalization in spermatozoa, and evaluation of the enzymatic activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in the semen of Holstein bulls. We used ejaculates from five bulls as part of a regular collection of semen. The monoclonal anti-ACE antibody recognized a single protein band with 100 kDa in detergent extract prepared from sperm and in seminal plasma. ACE enzymatic activity in sperm was 43.7, 21.3, 45.6, 60.0, and 57.7 mU/mL in bulls 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively, and 0.3, 2.3, 3.0, 2.3, and 2.6 mU/mL in seminal plasma of the same bulls, respectively. The average percentages of sperm with acrosome reactions after treatment with heparin were 28.3%, 28.6%, 35.2%, 25.0%, and 32.3%, respectively. These values were higher than the percentages of acrosome reactions in controls and the captopril group (P<0.05), although no difference was seen between the captopril and control groups (P>0.05). After 4h of incubation, motility in the control group (32.9%) was significantly higher than that in the heparin (15.7%) and captopril (12.1%) groups. No difference was found in motility after the capacitation assay in the heparin and captopril groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, ACE was immunologically localized in the acrosome of the spermatozoa of Holstein bull, the specific enzymatic activity of ACE in detergent-extracted spermatozoa and seminal plasma was inhibited by captopril, and this ACE inhibitor reduced the percentage of sperm with progressive motility and acrosome reactions after capacitation in vitro.