Abstract
The acrosome reaction is a Ca(2+)-dependent exocytotic process that is a prerequisite step for fertilization. External calcium entry through voltage-activated Ca(2+)channels is known to be essential in inducing the acrosome reaction of mammalian spermatozoa. Due to their complex geometry, however, electrophysiological identification of sperm Ca(2+)channels has been limited. Here we identified Ca(2+)channel mRNAs expressed in motile human sperm using RT-PCR and their levels were compared using RNase protection assays. L-type, non- L-type, and T-type Ca(2+)channel mRNAs were detected by RT-PCR using degenerate primers. Cloning and sequencing of the PCR products revealed α1B, α1C, α1E, α1G, and α1H sequences. RT-PCR using specific primers repeatedly detected α1B, α1C, α1E, α1G, and α1H mRNAs, and additionally α1I mRNA. But α1A and α1D messages were not detected. Relative expression levels of the detected Ca(2+)channel subtypes were compared by RNase protection assays. The abundance of detected mRNA messages was in the following order: α1H> or =α1G> or =α1E> or =α1B>α1C>α1I. These findings indicated that human motile sperm express multiple voltage-activated Ca(2+)channel RNAs among which T-type and non-L-type channel messages are likely to be predominantly expressed. Based on their relative expression levels, we propose that not only T-type but also non-L-type calcium channels may be major gates for the external calcium influx, required for the acrosome reaction.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Park, JY., Ahn, HJ., Gu, JG. et al. Molecular identification of Ca(2+)channels in human sperm. Exp Mol Med 35, 285–292 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2003.39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2003.39
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