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Identification of a Sperm acrosome associated protein (SPACA7) splice‐variant in human testis (LB212)
Author(s) -
Rashid Mohammad,
Parimi Ramya
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.lb212
Subject(s) - alternative splicing , biology , sperm , acrosome , zona pellucida , gene , gene isoform , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , acrosome reaction , oocyte , embryo
Transcriptome in a eukaryotic cell can vary based on the alternative splicing (AS) of genes giving a cell unique characteristic. AS can be a mechanism of gene regulation at the transcriptional level or it may be a way of generating diverse proteins from the same gene allowing them to function differently. Alternative splicing may well be a reason to develop male infertility, for example, studies on X‐linked gene glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ) that is essential for survival and differentiation of spermatogonia shows six genetic variants of GILZ and two of them are involved in male infertility. Recently Sperm Acrosome Associated 7(SPACA7) protein has been identified in mouse. The analysis of SPACA7 using MyHits motif scan indicated the presence of a putative anaphylatoxins‐like domain motif in its N‐terminal domain that may be responsible for such activities like penetration of the zona pellucida. The human counterpart of SPACA7 gene is located on chromosome 13 (13q34) and its product is a195 amino acid protein. Sperm acrosome structure is formed on the sperm head known to be specifically involved in the process of egg‐sperm fusion, called acrosome reaction, where it is believed to release the enzymes that allow the sperm to fuse with the egg. The role of SPACA isoforms is still under considerable debate. SPACA7 is also known to be unique compared to other isoforms of SPACA that it is exclusively expressed in testis. SPACA7 in human has never been cloned till date and its specific role is still unknown. We have sub‐cloned a SPACA7 splice variant in our laboratory while screening a human testis cDNA library to study protein‐protein interaction in the regulation of human inducible nitric oxide synthase exploiting yeast and mammalian two hybrid assay systems. We hypothesize that this specific variant of SPACA7 may be the preferred version of the protein that interacts with iNOS to modulate nitric oxide synthesis during acrosome reaction. Grant Funding Source : NIH/ARRA