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Abstract Spermiogenesis, the complex transformation of haploid spermatids into mature spermatozoa, relies on precise spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The mechanisms underlying this critical process remain incompletely understood. Here, we identify centrosomal protein 112 (CEP112) as an essential regulator of mRNA translation during this critical developmental process. Mutations in CEP112 are discovered in oligoasthenoteratospermic patients, and Cep112-deficient male mice recapitulate key phenotypes of human asthenoteratozoospermia. CEP112 localizes to the neck and atypical centrioles of mature sperm and forms RNA granules during spermiogenesis, enriching target mRNAs such as Fsip2, Cfap61, and Cfap74. Through multi-omics analyses and the TRICK reporter assay, we demonstrate that CEP112 orchestrates the translation of target mRNAs. Co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry identify CEP112’s interactions with translation-related proteins, including hnRNPA2B1, EEF1A1, and EIF4A1. In vitro, CEP112 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation, forming condensates that recruit essential proteins and mRNAs. Moreover, variants in patient-derived CEP112 disrupt phase separation and impair translation efficiency. Our results suggest that CEP112 mediates the assembly of RNA granules through liquid-liquid phase separation to control the post-transcriptional expression of fertility-related genes. This study not only clarifies CEP112’s role in spermatogenesis but also highlights the role of phase separation in translational regulation, providing insights into male infertility and suggesting potential therapeutic targets.

Conventional pre-synchronization control strategies for grid-connected virtual synchronous generator typically involve phase-locked loops, coordinate transformations or other non-linear computations, which may lead to substantial hardware resource consumption, pre-synchronization failures, even potential system instability. Hence, the mathematical relationships between voltage differences and angle differences on both sides before grid-connecting are analyzed. Based on those relationships, a pre-synchronization control strategy is proposed. It achieves smooth grid connection only by simple linear calculations using the filter capacitor voltage and the grid voltage. The difference between the effective values of these two voltage components is processed through a PI controller, with the result serving as a correction value for the output voltage command of the reactive power loop. The instantaneous value difference of the corresponding phase voltages is summed in absolute terms and processed through another PI controller, with the resulting output serving as a correction value for the frequency command of the active power loop. The cutoff frequencies of the two PI controllers are staggered to achieve decoupling. Control parameters are designed through stability analysis. Finally, experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Abstract Globozoospermia (OMIM: 102530) is a rare type of teratozoospermia ( A; p.R1224Q) in the patient. This variant significantly reduced the protein expression of SSFA2. Immunofluorescence staining showed positive SSFA2 expression in the acrosome of human sperm. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and Coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) analyses identified that GSTM3 and Actin interact with SSFA2. Further investigation revealed that for the patient, regular intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment had a poor prognosis. However, Artificial oocyte activation (AOA) by a calcium ionophore (A23187) after ICSI successfully rescued the oocyte activation failure for the patient with the SSFA2 variant, and the couple achieved a live birth. This study revealed that SSFA2 plays an important role in acrosome formation, and the homozygous c.3671G > A loss-of-function variant in SSFA2 caused globozoospermia. SSFA2 may represent a new gene in the genetic diagnosis of globozoospermia, especially the successful outcome of AOA-ICSI treatment for couples, which has potential value for clinicians in their treatment regimen selections.

To relieve the contradiction between supply and demand, a multi-port power conditioner (MP-PC) and control strategy with renewable energy access for a railway traction system is presented, which is mainly composed of full-bridge-based MMC and isolated DC/DC converters. As for the full-bridge-based MMC, the equivalent model is established and its novel voltage control method is proposed, which can provide a medium/low-voltage DC-link. A renewable energy system is connected to the system through the DC-link, so the MP-PC can achieve on-site consumption and balance between the load power and output power of RESs. Meanwhile, with the proposed control strategy, MP-PC can achieve three-phase power balance control and improve the operation performance of the railway traction system. Finally, the traction power platform and simulation model are established in the lab, and the topology and control strategy of MP-PC are verified effectively.

Oocyte activation failure is thought to be one of the main factors for total fertilisation failure (TFF) after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which could be induced by abnormal calcium oscillations. Phospholipase C zeta (PLCZ), a sperm factor, is associated with Ca2+ oscillations in mammalian oocytes. To date, some mutations in PLCZ1 (the gene that encodes PLCZ) have been linked to TFF, as demonstrated by the observed reduction in protein levels or activity to induce Ca2+ oscillations. In this study, normozoospermic males whose sperms exhibited TFF after ICSI and their families were recruited. First, mutations in the PLCZ1 sequence were identified by whole exome sequencing and validated using Sanger sequencing. Then, the locations of PLCZ1/PLCZ and the transcript and protein levels in the sperm of the patients were studied. Subsequently, in vitro function analysis and in silico analysis were performed to investigate the function-structure correlation of mutations identified in PLCZ1 using western blotting, immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and molecular simulation. Ca2+ oscillations were detected after cRNA microinjection into MII mouse oocytes to investigate calcium oscillations induced by abnormal PLCZ. Five variants with compound heterozygosity were identified, consisting of five new mutations and three previously reported mutations distributed across the main domains of PLCZ, except the EF hands domain. The transcript and protein levels decreased to varying degrees among all detected mutations in PLCZ1 when transfected in HEK293T cells. Among these, mutations in M138V and R391* of PLCZ were unable to trigger typical Ca2+ oscillations. In case 5, aberrant localisation of PLCZ in the sperm head and an increased expression of PLCZ in the sperm were observed. In conclusion, this study enhances the potential for genetic diagnosis of TFF in clinics and elucidates the possible relationship between the function and structure of PLCZ in novel mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]