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Journal of Animal Science and Technology
Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology

J Anim Sci Technol

pISSN: 2672-0191, eISSN: 2055-0391

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5187/jast.2500234

Article

Correlation between PI3K/PDK1/AKT Pathway-Related Protein Levels and Sperm Motility in Duroc Boars

Seung-Ik Jang1, Jae-Hwan Jo1, Claudine Uwamahoro1, Eun-Ju Jung1, Woo-Jin Lee1, Jeong-Won Bae1, Chanwool Park2,3, Junkoo Yi3, Daehyun Kim4,5, Joonho Moon6, Dong Yep Oh7, Jae Jung Ha8, Woo-Sung Kwon1,9,*
1Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea.
2Gyeonggi Province Livestock Promotion Center, Gyeonggi-do Provincial Government, Suwon 16508, Korea.
3School of Animal Life Convergence Science, Hankyong National University, Anseong 17579, Korea.
4Department of Animal Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea.
5ARIF Inc., Naju 58307, Korea.
6Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea.
7Gyeongbuk Livestock Research Institute, Yeongju 36052, Korea.
8Hanwoo Digital Information Center, Hanwooboard, Seoul 06641, Korea.
9Research Institute for Innovative Animal Science, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea.
*Corresponding Author: Woo-Sung Kwon, Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea, Republic of. Research Institute for Innovative Animal Science, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: wskwon@knu.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2025 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jul 02, 2025; Revised: Aug 11, 2025; Accepted: Aug 28, 2025

Published Online: Oct 02, 2025

Abstract

Male infertility is an increasing global health concern, with reduced sperm motility being a major contributing factor. Among various molecular mechanisms, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway has been identified as a key regulator of sperm function, particularly motility. However, the relationship between this pathway and sperm motility is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the correlation between sperm motility and the levels of PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway-related proteins in Duroc boar spermatozoa. Sperm motility was assessed using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), and protein levels were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Our results revealed significant correlations between signaling components and specific motility parameters. Notably, PI3K levels were negatively correlated with beat cross frequency (BCF), suggesting that excessive activation may impair flagellar motion. In contrast, phosphorylated PDK1 (p-PDK1) and AKT phosphorylated at Thr308 and Ser473 were positively correlated with progressive motility (PRG), supporting a role for AKT activation in enhancing forward movement. Interestingly, both PTEN and phosphorylated PTEN (p-PTEN) showed positive correlations with various velocity parameters, indicating a potential regulatory role in modulating AKT activity to maintain optimal motility patterns. While these findings enhance our understanding of sperm motility regulation, limitations include reliance on the correlation analysis and the absence of direct enzymatic activity measurements. Additionally, these results are specific to Duroc boar spermatozoa and may not be directly applicable to other species. Nonetheless, this study provides foundational insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying sperm motility and underscores the importance of the PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway in male fertility.

Keywords: sperm motility; PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway; boar; male fertility