Dr. Leclerc is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproduction of the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University. Being a regular researcher in the Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health axis at the CHU of Quebec-Laval University Research Centre, he is also a member of the Centre for Research in Reproduction, Development and Intergenerational Health of Laval University (CRDSI), and is part of the Réseau québécois en reproduction (RQR). Dr. Leclerc is involved in the training of graduate students enrolled in the Molecular Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology programs of the Faculty of Medicine, as well as Animal Sciences of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. He is also a member of the Molecular Medicine Program Committee.
Dr. Leclerc’s research interests are in the field of male infertility. Following ejaculation, spermatozoa, although morphologically whole and motile, are unable to fertilize an egg. They must undergo a maturation stage that normally occurs in the female genital tract as they move to the fertilization site. The intracellular mechanisms that cause metabolic and membrane changes that make sperm capable of interacting and fertilizing the egg are at the heart of Dr. Leclerc’s research activities.
His research also focuses on the mechanisms involved in the interactions between gametes during fertilization, and more specifically on the proteins mediating the recognition and binding of spermatozoa to the egg.
About 7% of men suffer from infertility and, for nearly one-third, the reasons are unknown. Dr. Leclerc’s research may help to better understand the causes of these cases of unexplained infertility. In addition, a better understanding of the physiology and fertilization potential of sperm improves the success rate of medically assisted reproduction and cryopreservation techniques by reducing their deleterious effects.
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Canada G1V 4G2
The protein phosphatase with EF-hand domain 1 is a calmodulin-binding protein that interacts with proteins involved in sperm capacitation, binding to the zona pellucida, and motility
Journal ArticleMol Reprod Dev, 88 (4), 2021.
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Study on the role of calmodulin in sperm function through the enrichment and identification of calmodulin-binding proteins in bovine ejaculated spermatozoa
Journal ArticleJ Cell Physiol, 235 (6), 2020.
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SPAM1 and PH-20 are two gene products expressed in bovine testis and present in sperm
Journal ArticleReproduction, 156 (6), 2018.
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Papaverine-sensitive phosphodiesterase activity is measured in bovine spermatozoa
Journal ArticleAndrology, 5 (1), 2017.
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Cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin improves ram sperm cryoresistance in skim milk-extender
Journal ArticleAnim Reprod Sci, 177 , 2017.
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Novel technical strategies to optimize cryopreservation of goat semen using cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin
Journal ArticleCryobiology, 74 , 2017.
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Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in human spermatozoa and seminal fluid: Presence of an active PDE10A in human spermatozoa
Journal ArticleBiochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj, 1861 (2), 2017.
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The immobilization of human spermatozoa by STAT3 inhibitory compound V results from an excessive intracellular amount of reactive oxygen species
Journal ArticleAndrology, 4 (1), 2016.
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Recombinant human oviductin regulates protein tyrosine phosphorylation and acrosome reaction
Journal ArticleReproduction, 152 (5), 2016.
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Identification and Localization of the Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase 10A in Bovine Testis and Mature Spermatozoa
Journal ArticlePLoS One, 11 (8), 2016.
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Active projects
- Elucidating the intracellular mechanisms that regulate mammalian sperm fertilizing ability and motility, from 2021-04-01 to 2026-03-31
- Importance de la protéine STAT3 dans la spermiogenèse, l’intégrité et la motilité des spermatozoïdes, from 2022-07-01 to 2023-06-30
- Intercellular communication networks and luminal acidification in the post-testicular male reproductive tract, from 2022-10-01 to 2027-09-30
- Mitochondrial signaling plays an important role in the regulation of sperm motility and fertilizing ability, from 2021-10-01 to 2026-09-30
- Réseau Québécois en Reproduction (RQR), from 2017-04-01 to 2023-03-31
Recently finished projects
- Computer-Aided Sperm Analysis (CASA) of sperm motility and hyperactivation, from 2021-04-01 to 2022-03-31
- Importance des protéines reliées au syndrome X-Fragile dans les fonctions reproductives masculines, from 2020-12-16 to 2021-12-31
- La protéine spermatique SPAM1 comme marqueur de la qualité de la semence, de la fertilité des taureaux, et de la vocation laitière ou bouchère du cheptel bovin québécois., from 2018-04-01 to 2021-03-31
- Rôle de la voie Hedgehod dans la fonction spermatique, from 2021-01-28 to 2021-12-31
- Rôle novateur du récepteur pro-inflammtoire P2RY14 en reproduction masculine, from 2020-11-01 to 2022-04-30