Seminal Vesicle-Derived Exosomes for the Regulation of Sperm Activity

The seminal vesicle contributes to a large extent of the semen volume and composition. Removal of seminal vesicle or lack of seminal vesicle proteins leads to decreased fertility. Seminal plasma proteome revealed that seminal fluid contained a wide diversity of proteins. Many of them are known to modulate sperm capacitation and serve as capacitation inhibitors or decapacitation factors. Despite identifying secretory vesicles from the male reproductive tract, such as epididymosomes or prostasomes, isolation, identification, and characterization of seminal vesicle-derived exosomes are still unknown. This chapter aims to review the current understanding of the function of seminal vesicles on sperm physiology and male reproduction and provide ultracentrifugation-based isolation protocols for the isolation of seminal vesicle exosomes. Moreover, via proteomic analysis and functional categorization, a total of 726 proteins IDs were identified in the purified seminal vesicle exosomes fraction. Preliminary data showed seminal vesicle-derived exosomes inhibited sperm capacitation; however, more studies will be needed to reveal other functional involvements of seminal vesicle-derived exosomes on the sperm physiology and, more importantly, how these exosomes interact with sperm membrane to achieve their biological effects.