Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P56851 (epididymal)
 11,273 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sulfogalactosylglycerolipid (SGG) is the major mammalian male germ cell glycolipid and has been implicated in sperm/egg binding. Mycoplasma pulmonis, a species of Mollicutes, is associated with male infertility in rodents. Purified SGG incubated in the presence of M. pulmonis was enzymatically degraded by both desulfation and deacylation. Desulfation occurred primarily at alkaline pH, and deacylation also increased with increased pH, indicating that these represent novel enzymatic activities. Digestion was facilitated, but not dependent on, the presence of detergent. Rat spermatozoa exposed to M. pulmonis showed a reduction in SGG content which was particularly marked for cauda (mature) spermatozoa. With the aid of tlc overlay binding procedure, intact M. pulmonis were found to bind specifically to sulfated glycolipids and thus SGG may provide the cell membrane receptor for this organism. The topology of mycoplasma binding to rat sperm was consistent with the known topology of sperm SGG. The reduced binding (and subsequent digestion) of caput spermatozoan SGG correlates with the membrane colocalization of SGG and its endogenous binding protein at this stage. Separation of SGG and its binding protein during epididymal sperm maturation appears to facilitate M. pulmonis binding to and digestion of cauda sperm SGG. The binding and degradation of the sperm SGG by M. pulmonis may play a role in the induction of infertility which follows infection with these organisms by interfering in sperm/egg receptor recognition.
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PMID:Male germ cell specific sulfogalactoglycerolipid is recognized and degraded by mycoplasmas associated with male infertility. 229 20

When fresh, epididymal mouse spermatozoa were incubated with viable Mycoplasma pulmonis, the mycoplasma adhered to the heads and tails of spermatozoa. Spermatozoa that had been preincubated with M. pulmonis in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and spermatozoa incubated in PBS alone were inseminated into the uterine horns of mice induced to superovulate. The mycoplasma treatment resulted in a reduced rate of fertilization and a decrease in the number of spermatozoa associated with eggs recovered from the oviduct at 5--18 h after ovulation. The percentage of spermatozoa recovered from the oviduct with adherent mycoplasmas, as determined by fluorescence microscopy, was lower than that seen in the uterus. Mycoplasma treatment of spermatozoa inseminated directly into the ovarian bursa did not result in a reduced fertilization rate. The results suggest that M. pulmonis adversely affects sperm transport through the female reproductive tract in the mouse.
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PMID:Effect of Mycoplasma pulmonis on in-vivo fertilization in the mouse. 709 34

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) affect the physiology of male/female reproduction. Chronic bacterial infection of semen is uncommon, but may be a cause of male infertility. Antibacterial treatment results in improvement in sperm quality, once the infection is eradicated. Little is known about how infection with Mycoplasma hominis affects semen quality, but treatment with antibiotics improves motility and decreases the percentage of coiled tails. Chlamydia trachomatis is not frequently isolated from the urethral cultures of normal men, but is a major cause of nongonococcal urethritis and epididymitis. Chlamydia is an important cause of epididymal and oviductal obstruction. Trichomonas vaginalis most frequently colonizes the vagina and cervix of women and the anterior urethra of the male sexual partners. The highest prevalence is in sexually active men and women and Trichomoniasis may well be the most common STD. Syphilis may be an important cofactor in facilitating transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A history of syphilis or a positive serologic test for syphilis is associated with HIV seropositivity in men. In South Africa, the seropositivity in pregnant black women ranges from 11-20%. Ga-Rankuwa Hospital is the referral center for 40 peripheral hospitals and over 4 million people. Since the inception of the Andrology Laboratory in June 1985, more than 5300 semen analyses have been performed on 2000 patients.
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PMID:Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in infertile males attending the andrology clinic at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital. 1228 85