Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.36 (hyaluronidase)
 4,606 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

PH-20, a testis-specific protein first expressed in haploid germ cells, is present on the posterior head plasma membrane and inner acrosomal membrane of mature guinea pig sperm. PH-20 is bifunctional, having a hyaluronidase activity that allows sperm to penetrate the cumulus layer and a separate activity required for binding of acrosome-reacted sperm to the zona pellucida. The immunization of male guinea pigs with PH-20 reproducibly results in infertility with a duration of 6-12 mo or longer. In this study, we analyzed the immunopathology in the reproductive tract of PH-20-immunized males to probe the mechanism(s) responsible for the induced infertility and found two separate effects. Remarkably, in almost all infertile, PH-20-immunized males, the caudae epididymides were empty (contained no sperm) or contained only abnormal sperm. The complete loss of normal sperm in the epididymis apparently results in infertility. A second effect was the induction of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO), representing the first report of EAO induced by a purified testis/sperm molecule of known functions. PH-20-induced EAO differed from EAO induced by crude testis antigens in two respects: 1) an absence of epididymitis with abscess and granuloma and 2) the presence of antibody on germ cells within seminiferous tubules and inside the cauda epididymidis. The former suggests that crude testis antigens other than PH-20 are responsible for epididymitis, and the latter suggests a possible role of antibody in EAO pathogenesis and infertility induction. Return to fertility, after 6-12 mo, was accompanied by regression of EAO and reappearance of spermatozoa in the caudae epididymides.
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PMID:Mechanism of infertility in male guinea pigs immunized with sperm PH-20. 916 Jul 11

Hyaluronan is a component of the extracellular matrix of the central nervous system, and forms perineuronal nets around neurons. It has been recently reported that the hyaluronan-degrading enzyme hyaluronidase promotes lateral mobility of AMPA-type glutamate receptors and enhances synaptic plasticity. However, the biological significance of hyaluronan-degrading products (oligosaccharides) has not been studied in depth. Here we investigated the effects of hyaluronan oligosaccharides on motor function recovery after spinal cord injury in rats. The disaccharide HA2 and especially the tetrasaccharide HA4, significantly improved motor function, unlike the case with oligosaccharides composed of 6-12 saccharides. Consistent with this finding, HA4 treatment enhanced axonal regeneration/sprouting, as assessed by corticospinal tract tracer fiber counts. HA4 treatment also significantly suppressed accumulation of Iba-1-positive cells in a lesion two weeks after injury. In vitro experiments demonstrated that NMDA-induced neuronal cell death was partly blocked by HA4, but not by other oligosaccharides, whereas proteoglycan-mediated inhibition of neurite outgrowth was not affected by treatment with any oligosaccharide examined. Taken together, the present results revealed that due in part to its neuroprotective activity, HA4 promotes motor function recovery after spinal cord injury.
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PMID:Hyaluronan oligosaccharides promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury in rats. 2111 Oct 28