Investigating the correlation of GRP78 with sperm motility and kinematic parameters insights into male fertility

Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), which belongs to the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) family, is a chaperone essential for maintaining cellular balance in the endoplasmic reticulum. It acts as a receptor on the cell surface, affecting cell growth and survival. Recent research has emphasized the involvement of GRP78 in protein folding, ER stress signaling, and cancer cell proliferation and highlighted its presence on sperm cells, where it contributes to spermatogenesis and sperm capacitation. Despite these findings, the association of GRP78 with sperm motility and motion kinematic parameters remains insufficiently understood. This study assessed the correlation between GRP78 and various sperm motility and kinematic parameters, which are essential for the capacitation process. GRP78 expression was positively correlated with linearity and straightness and negatively correlated with total sperm motility and beat cross frequency. However, GRP78 expression did not exhibit a significant correlation with progressive sperm motility, average path velocity, curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity, and amplitude of lateral head displacement. These results provide novel insights into the correlation between GRP78 and sperm motility, as well as its potential implications for male fertility.