PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Wu, Bingbing AU - Long, Chenghong AU - Yang, Yuzhuo AU - Zhang, Zhe AU - Ma, Shuang AU - Ma, Yanjie AU - Wei, Huafang AU - Li, Jinghe AU - Jiang, Hui AU - Li, Wei AU - Liu, Chao TI - CCDC113 stabilizes sperm axoneme and head-tail coupling apparatus to ensure male fertility AID - 10.1101/2024.04.12.589289 DP - 2024 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2024.04.12.589289 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/10/01/2024.04.12.589289.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/10/01/2024.04.12.589289.full AB - The structural integrity of the sperm is crucial for male fertility, defects in sperm head-tail linkage and flagellar axoneme are associated with acephalic spermatozoa syndrome (ASS) and the multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella (MMAF). Notably, impaired head-tail coupling apparatus (HTCA) often accompanies defects in the flagellum structure, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain elusive. Here, we identified an evolutionarily conserved coiled-coil domain-containing (CCDC) protein, CCDC113, and found the disruption of CCDC113 produced spermatozoa with disorganized sperm flagella and HTCA, which caused male infertility. Further analysis revealed that CCDC113 could bind to CFAP57 and CFAP91, and function as an adaptor protein for the connection of radial spokes, nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC) and doublet microtubules (DMTs) in the sperm axoneme. Moreover, CCDC113 was identified as a structural component of HTCA, collaborating with SUN5 and CENTLEIN to connect sperm head to tail during spermiogenesis. Together, our studies reveal that CCDC113 serve as a critical hub for sperm axoneme and HTCA stabilization, providing insights into the potential pathogenesis of infertility associated with human CCDC113 mutations.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.