Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.21.4 (trypsin)
42,187 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A recently recognized non-proacrosin zymogen referred to as sperminogen has been purified from human spermatozoa, and several of its properties have been determined. The purification procedure included acid extraction of washed ejaculated sperm at pH 3.0, followed by gel filtration of the solubilized extract over a Sephadex G-75 superfine column. The sperminogen eluted from the column in a single band that was completely separated from the proacrosin band. This separation was confirmed by a gelatin-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (gelatin-SDS-PAGE) zymograph. This zymograph also demonstrated that the final sperminogen preparation contained four forms of zymogen, with molecular weights between 32,000 and 36,000. At neutral pH, the sperminogen was converted into spermin, its enzymatically active form, yielding a sigmoidal curve typical of zymogen autoactivation. The effects of several factors on the rate of this autoconversion indicate specific differences between sperminogen and proacrosin. Spermin hydrolyzed N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BzArgOEt), and was inhibited by lima bean trypsin inhibitor, pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, N-acetyl-L-leucyl-L-leucyl-L-argininal (leupeptin), and tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone, indicating that the enzyme has a trypsin-like specificity and probably belongs to the class of trypsin-like enzymes. Since acrosin is generally believed to be the only trypsin-like enzyme in mammalian sperm, the demonstration of human sperminogen and spermin necessitates further inquiry into the functions and the relationships between sperm proteinase systems.
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PMID:Partial purification and characterization of human sperminogen. 310 11

Ram spermatozoa incubated in the presence of Ca2+ and the Ca2+-ionophore A23187 undergo a process which is known as the acrosome reaction. This reaction is characterized by fusion of the outer acrosomal membrane and the overlying plasma membrane to form mixed vesicles which can be seen in the electron microscope. As a result, the trypsin-like acrosin is released from the cells to the medium. The occurrence of the acrosome reaction was determined by following acrosin activity in the medium. After 2 h of incubation of the cells in the presence of ionophore and Ca2+, the released acrosin activity is related to the ionophores according to the sequence: A23187 greater than monensin greater than valinomycin greater than FCCP = without ionophore. The study of Ca2+ uptake by the cells revealed that Ca2+ enters the cell prior to the release of acrosin. Monensin can induce Ca2+ uptake and acrosin release only when Na+ is present in the incubation medium. There is no increase in Ca2+ uptake with carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP). We suggest that the Na+/H+ exchange induced by monensin causes an increase in intracellular Na which is the driving force for the Ca2+ entry via a Ca2+/Na+ antiporter. Since monensin can induce an increase in Ca2+ uptake only in the presence of Na+, FCCP enhances Ca2+ uptake in the presence of valinomycin, and A23187 is a Ca2+/2H+ exchanger, we suggest that alkalization of the intracellular space is involved in the acrosome reaction. Calcium uptake in the presence of monensin is not affected by the uncoupler FCCP, a result which indicates that Ca2+ is not accumulated in the mitochondria. Incubation of cells for 3 h in the absence of Ca2+ or ionophore caused a 3-fold increase in the rate of acrosin release when monensin and Ca2+ were added together. There was no change in this rate when A23187 was used. We suggest that during the preincubation time (known as capacitation) the permeability of the plasma membrane to Ca2+ is enhanced. This study shows that acrosin release and Ca2+ uptake can be used as a quantitative asay for the determination of the acrosome reaction.
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PMID:Induction of acrosomal reaction and calcium uptake in ram spermatozoa by ionophores. 312 23

Incubation of dejellied spawned oocytes from Bufo arenarum with different lectins results in a decrease of oocyte fertility. Concanavalin A was the most effective lectin; phytohemagglutinin P and wheat germ lectin were less effective. Agglutinin from soybean was scarcely active. These lectin effects could be ascribed to a hindering of specific sites for some proteases, since the same treatment renders the oocyte vitelline envelope insensitive to spermatolysin (an essential requisite for fertilization) and to trypsin. Also in this case concanavalin A was the most effective lectin. Univalent concanavalin A was also effective in blocking the fertility of dejellied oocytes. These results indicate that the residues of alpha-D-glucose and alpha-D-mannose present in the vitelline envelope are involved in gamete interactions in Bufo arenarum. This idea is also supported by the finding that dejellied oocytes (fertilizables) have a number of binding sites for concanavalin A that is three or four orders of magnitude higher than coelomic or fertilized oocytes (both not penetrable by spermatozoa).
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PMID:Lectin binding sites in the vitelline envelope of Bufo arenarum oocytes: role in fertilization. 314 39

A sperm antigen has been isolated from radiolabeled human sperm cell membrane by detergent solubilization, lectin affinity chromatography, gel filtration, and indirect immune precipitation using sperm-immobilizing antisera from patients with unexplained infertility. Isolated material was characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Among 20 infertile women's sera with sperm-immobilizing antibodies, two were found to react predominantly with a sperm membrane polypeptide having the approximate molecular weight of 15,000 daltons. No significant binding to this molecule was observed in any sera from pregnant women, unmarried women, and normal men. By the absorption with spermatozoa, the antisera lost their binding activity to the molecule, while the sera absorbed with seminal plasma did not lose the activity. The results indicated that the molecule is a genuine sperm antigen and not a sperm-coating seminal plasma antigen. By the indirect immunofluorescence of washed ejaculated spermatozoa with the antisera, strong fluorescence was localized only in an equatorial segment of the acrosome, while no specific staining was observed in the controls. The antigen is relatively unstable against acid, alkali, and heat treatment. Treatment with proteolytic enzymes such as pronase and trypsin inactivated the antigen activity, indicating that the antigen epitope could be a peptide portion of the glycoprotein.
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PMID:Identification and characterization of a human sperm antigen corresponding to sperm-immobilizing antibodies. 320 36

A comparison of the alkaline proteinase activity of human seminal plasma, the seminal non-gamete cellular material and spermatozoa was made by gelatin-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (gelatin-SDS-PAGE) zymography. Several major (molecular weights = greater than 56,000) and minor (35,000 to 44,000) bands of proteinase activity were seen in the seminal plasma samples from nonvasectomized and vasectomized, healthy donors. Similar activity profiles were observed in the nongamete cellular material of vasectomized donor ejaculates. The major proteinase activity in sperm extracts was in the 47,000 to 55,000 (proacrosin-acrosin) and 34,000 to 37,000 (sperminogen-spermin) molecular weight ranges. These results suggest that the proacrosin-acrosin and sperminogen-spermin systems are of sperm origin and that there are considerable amounts of larger molecular weight trypsin-like enzymes in the soluble and nongamete cellular material of human seminal plasma.
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PMID:Comparison between proteinases of human seminal plasma and of sperm origin. 330 51

A sialoglycoprotein, an integral component of the head plasma membrane of human spermatozoa, is recognized by the a-HS 1A.1 monoclonal antibody. The antigenicity is associated with the sugar moiety since: a) trypsin digestion did not affect the antigenic determinant; b) pretreatment of the cells with beta-glucosidase, alpha-mannosidase and neuraminidase completely abolished antibody binding. Endoglycosidase D and glycopeptidase F were inactive. The a-HS 1A.1 did not recognize a variety of blood-group related synthetic oligosaccharides. The species specificity was studied by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The antibody also recognized an antigen on Macaca fascicularis sperm, but failed to bind to spermatozoa of boar, bull, goat, ram, stallion, dog, rabbit, rooster, carp and eel.
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PMID:Primate specific sialoglycoprotein of sperm head plasma membrane defined by an anti-carbohydrate monoclonal antibody. 331 19

The functional domains of the glycoproteins of the pig zona pellucida have been analysed using lectin binding, peptide mapping, and immunoblotting in conjunction with analysis by high-resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and protein detection with the silver-based colour stain. Two of the pig zona pellucida glycoproteins identified in 2D-PAGE were differentially proteolysed within the intact matrix by a variety of enzymes. This proteolysis of specific proteins, however, did not affect the suprastructure of the matrix, or inhibit spermatozoa from adhering to the surface of the zona pellucida. The major glycoprotein appears to be involved in the structural maintenance of the zona pellucida because dissolution of the matrix correlated with proteolysis of this glycoprotein by proteinase K. These glycoproteins were further evaluated by lectin blotting with Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) before and after proteolysis of zona pellucida with trypsin. The lectins bound to all charge species of the three major zona pellucida glycoproteins. Only the most acidic components of the major glycoprotein family, which are not extensively digested, were recognized by these lectins after proteolysis. These studies provide evidence that the major glycoprotein family I of the pig zona pellucida is primarily responsible for maintaining the integrity of the matrix.
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PMID:Evidence for a role of the major glycoprotein in the structural maintenance of the pig zona pellucida. 343 Apr 58

A method for estimating the concentration of spermatozoa in the rat cauda epididymidis is described. Treatment of a sperm suspension with 0.05% collagenase for 20-60 min or 0.025% trypsin for 1-2 min at 34-37 degrees C was found to result in consistently homogeneous sperm. Sperm concentration ranged from 152.5 to 230.0 x 10(7) spermatozoa/ml, with a mean of 187.7 +/- 5.6 (SEM) x 10(7) spermatozoa/ml.
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PMID:Determination of spermatozoa concentration in the rat cauda epididymidis. 345 91

Hamster spermatozoa collected from the caput and cauda epididymidis were washed, diluted in a medium containing Triton X-100 to dissolve the cell membrane and reactivated with various concentrations of MgSO4 and ATP. Stepwise increase in the concentrations of free ATP4- from 0.08 to 1.1 mM at constant concentrations of MgATP2- caused a dose-dependent delay of reactivation but the maximal percentage of motile spermatozoa was inhibited only at 1.1 mM. The inhibitory effect on caput spermatozoa was greater than that on cauda spermatozoa. When concentrations of ATP4- were fixed at 0.2 mM, 2.9 mM-MgATP2- suppressed the reactivation of cauda spermatozoa. When compared to 0.9 mM-MgATP2-, reactivation of caput spermatozoa was delayed at 1.9 mM and almost completely blocked by 2.9 mM-MgATP2-. Inhibition of cauda sperm reactivation by ATP4- and MgATP2- were both prevented by the presence of trypsin (50 ng/ml). Incubation of cauda spermatozoa in the reactivation medium for 1 and 2 min before the addition of ATP progressively reduced the inhibitory effect of ATP4-; inhibition by MgATP2- was reduced to a lesser extent. Addition of 100 microM-cyclic AMP to the medium abolished the delay of reactivation by ATP4- but not that by MgATP2-. Before reactivation occurred, inhibitory concentrations of ATP4- and MgATP2- both induced large-angle coiling of sperm tails but in opposite direction to each other with reference to the asymmetric sperm head. The results suggest that free-ATP4- and superoptimal concentrations of MgATP2- inhibit flagellar movement by different mechanisms.
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PMID:Inhibition of the ATP-induced reactivation of demembranated hamster spermatozoa by the action of free ATP4- and MgATP2-. 349 9

Intact spermatozoa from goat cauda epididymides possess an ecto-(cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase) activity that causes transfer of the terminal phosphate of exogenously added [gamma-32P]ATP to the serine and threonine residues of several endogenous plasma-membrane phosphoproteins located on the external cell surface. Cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, calmodulin and muscle cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases I and II had no appreciable effect on the rate of phosphorylation of ecto-proteins by the intact cells. The ecto-enzyme is not derived from the catalytic subunit of a cyclic AMP-dependent kinase. Sperm ecto-kinase activity is not due to contamination of broken cells or any possible cell damage during incubation and isolation of spermatozoa. The phosphorylation reaction was linear for approx. 1 min and there was no detectable uptake of ATP by these cells. The activity of the ecto-kinase was strongly inhibited by proteinases and by the membrane-nonpenetrating surface probes. The products of the reaction were associated with the intact cells and the 32P of the labelled cells was largely lost when treated with Triton X-100 or proteinases: trypsin and pronase. These data are consistent with the view that the observed protein kinase and the phosphoproteins are located on the external surface of spermatozoa. Vigorously forward-motile whole spermatozoa showed a relatively high capacity to phosphorylate ecto-proteins that undergo rapid turnover. The results suggest the occurrence of a novel coupled-enzyme system (ecto-protein kinase and phosphoprotein phosphatase) on the sperm external surface that may modulate sperm physiology by determining the phosphorylated states of the ecto-proteins.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of external cell-surface proteins by an endogenous ecto-protein kinase of goat epididymal intact spermatozoa. 352 94


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