Calpain modulates capacitation and acrosome reaction through cleavage of the spectrin cytoskeleton.
Summary of "Calpain modulates capacitation and acrosome reaction through cleavage of the spectrin cytoskeleton."
Research on fertilization in mammalian species has revealed that Ca2+ is an important player in biochemical and physiological events enabling the sperm to penetrate the oocyte. Ca2+ is a signal transducer that particularly mediates capacitation and acrosome reaction. Before becoming fertilization-competent, sperm must experience several molecular, biochemical and physiological changes where Ca2+ plays a pivotal role. Calpain-1 and -2 are Ca2+-dependent proteases broadly studied in mammalian sperm, they have been involved in capacitation and acrosome reaction but little is known about their mechanism. In this work, we establish the association of calpastatin with calpain-1 and the changes undergone by this complex during capacitation in guinea pig sperm. We found that calpain-1 is relocated and translocated from cytoplasm to plasma membrane during capacitation, where it could cleave spectrin, one of the proteins of the plasma membrane-associated cytoskeleton and facilitates acrosome reaction. The aforementioned results were dependent on the calpastatin phosphorylation and the presence of extracellular Ca2+. Our findings underline the contribution of the sperm cytoskeleton in the regulation of both capacitation and acrosome reaction. In addition, our findings also reveal one of the mechanisms by which calpain and calcium exert its function in sperm.
Affiliation
E Hernandez-Gonzalez, Biologia Celular, CINVESTAV-IPN, Mexico City, Mexico.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Reproduction (Cambridge, England)
ISSN: 1741-7899
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20716611
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1530/REP-09-0545
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Acrosome Reaction
Changes that occur to liberate the enzymes of the ACROSOME of a sperm (SPERMATOZOA). Acrosome reaction allows the sperm to penetrate the ZONA PELLUCIDA and enter the OVUM during FERTILIZATION.
Sperm Capacitation
The structural and functional changes by which SPERMATOZOA become capable of oocyte FERTILIZATION. It normally requires exposing the sperm to the female genital tract for a period of time to bring about increased SPERM MOTILITY and the ACROSOME REACTION before fertilization in the FALLOPIAN TUBES can take place.
Cleavage Stimulation Factor
A RNA-binding protein that stimulates the cleavage of the 3' end of MRNA near the POLYADENYLATION site. It is a heterotrimer of 55-, 64- and 77-kDa subunits and combines with CLEAVAGE STIMULATION FACTOR to form a stable complex with mRNA that directs the 3' cleavage and polyadenylation reaction.
Cleavage And Polyadenylation Specificity Factor
An RNA-binding protein that recognizes the AAUAAA RNA SEQUENCE at the 3' end of MRNA. It contains four subunits of 30, 73, 100 and 160 kDa molecular size and combines with CLEAVAGE STIMULATION FACTOR to form a stable complex with mRNA that directs the 3' cleavage and polyadenylation reaction.
Acrosome
The cap-like structure covering the anterior portion of SPERM HEAD. Acrosome, derived from LYSOSOMES, is a membrane-bound organelle that contains the required hydrolytic and proteolytic enzymes necessary for sperm penetration of the egg in FERTILIZATION.
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