Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: UNIPROT:P30044 (
antioxidant enzyme
)
8,037
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a ubiquitous
antioxidant enzyme
that catalytically converts the superoxide radical to hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
). In mammals, high SOD activity is detectable in sperm and seminal plasma, and loss of SOD activity has been correlated with male infertility; however, the underlying mechanisms of sperm infertility remain to be clarified. Here we report that the deletion of two major SOD genes in
Caenorhabditis elegans
,
sod-1
and
sod-2
, causes sperm activation defects, leading to a significant reduction in brood size. By examining the reactivity to the sperm activation signals
Pronase
and triethanolamine, we found that
sod-1
;
sod-2
double mutant sperm cells display defects in pseudopod extension. Neither the content nor oxidative modification of major sperm protein, an essential cytoskeletal component for crawling movement, were significantly affected in
sod-1
;
sod-2
mutant sperm. Surprisingly, H
2
O
2
, the dismutation product of SOD, could activate
sod-1;sod-2
mutant sperm treated with
Pronase
. Moreover, the H
2
O
2
scavenger ebselen completely inhibited pseudopod extension in wild-type sperm treated with
Pronase
, and H
2
O
2
could directly induce pseudopod extension in wild-type sperm. Analysis of
Pronase
-triggered sperm activation in
sod-1
and
sod-2
single mutants revealed that
sod-2
is required for pseudopod extension. These results suggest that SOD-2 plays an important role in the sperm activation of
C. elegans
by producing H
2
O
2
as an activator of pseudopod extension.
...
PMID:Hydrogen peroxide produced by superoxide dismutase SOD-2 activates sperm in
Caenorhabditis elegans
. 2872 32
