1. Nematode sperm maturation triggered by protease involves sperm-secreted serine protease inhibitor (Serpin)
- Author
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Youqiao Hu, Yunlong Shang, Fanxia Meng, Andreas Huhmer, Bin Wang, Chun-Qing Song, Meng-Qiu Dong, Steven W. L'Hernault, Yanmei Zhao, Mei-Jun Zhang, Si-Min He, Zhiqi Hao, Pan Zhang, Hao Chi, Xuan Ma, Wei Sun, and Long Miao
- Subjects
Male ,endocrine system ,Nematoda ,Spermiogenesis ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Serpin ,medicine ,Animals ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Sperm motility ,reproductive and urinary physiology ,Serpins ,Serine protease ,Multidisciplinary ,Protease ,Spermatid ,biology ,Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ,urogenital system ,Biological Sciences ,Sperm ,Molecular biology ,Spermatids ,Spermatozoa ,Cell biology ,Major sperm protein ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,biology.protein ,Peptide Hydrolases - Abstract
Spermiogenesis is a series of poorly understood morphological, physiological and biochemical processes that occur during the transition of immotile spermatids into motile, fertilization-competent spermatozoa. Here, we identified a Serpin (serine protease inhibitor) family protein (As_SRP-1) that is secreted from spermatids during nematode Ascaris suum spermiogenesis (also called sperm activation) and we showed that As_SRP-1 has two major functions. First, As_SRP-1 functions in cis to support major sperm protein (MSP)-based cytoskeletal assembly in the spermatid that releases it, thereby facilitating sperm motility acquisition. Second, As_SRP-1 released from an activated sperm inhibits, in trans , the activation of surrounding spermatids by inhibiting vas deferens-derived As_TRY-5, a trypsin-like serine protease necessary for sperm activation. Because vesicular exocytosis is necessary to create fertilization-competent sperm in many animal species, components released during this process might be more important modulators of the physiology and behavior of surrounding sperm than was previously appreciated.
- Published
- 2012