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)

Human Epididymis-specific protein 6 [HE6 (GPR64)] is a highly conserved, tissue-specific seven-transmembrane receptor of the human epididymis. The rodent counterparts were cloned and 5'-inverse PCR employed to confirm that the cDNA sequences were full length. Downstream from the highly conserved signal peptide-coding sequence, the 5'-regions contained at least six mini-exons of less than 50 nucleotides. Multiple splice variants involving these mini-exons were cloned in the human, the majority of which was also found in rodents. Northern blot analysis showed that the tissue distribution of the mRNA was very similar in human and rodents. The human HE6 gene was assigned to the X chromosome in a region, which is syntenic to the mouse. The HE6 sequence predicted a two-subunit receptor of the LNB-TM7 subfamily. A membrane preparation and protein solubilization method was adopted to identify the endogenous epididymal proteins. Two sets of peptides were chosen for antibody production, assuming that protein scission had occurred within the conserved GPS-motif. Western blot analysis revealed abundant two-subunit proteins in human and rodents, comprising an approximately 180 kDa hydrophilic ectosubunit and a <40 kDa hydrophobic endosubunit. Deglycosylation experiments showed that the large ectosubunits were highly glycosylated, the carbohydrate side chains dramatically increasing the apparent molecular mass. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that both subunits were associated with apical membranes of efferent ductule and proximal epididymal duct epithelia.
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PMID:HE6, a two-subunit heptahelical receptor associated with apical membranes of efferent and epididymal duct epithelia. 1242 Feb 95

Apart from condoms and vasectomy, modern contraceptive methods for men are still not available. Besides hormonal approaches to stop testicular sperm production, the post-meiotic blockage of epididymal sperm maturation carries lots of promise. Microarray and proteomics techniques and libraries of expressed sequence tags, in combination with digital differential display tools and publicly available gene expression databases, are being currently used to identify and characterize novel epididymal proteins as putative targets for male contraception. The data reported indicate that these technologies provide complementary information for the identification of novel highly expressed genes in the epididymis. Deleting the gene of interest by targeted ablation technology in mice or using immunization against the cognate protein are the two preferred methods to functionally validate the function of novel genes in vivo. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of several epididymal proteins shown either in vivo or in vitro to be involved in the epididymal sperm maturation. These proteins include CRISP1, SPAG11e, DEFB126, carbonyl reductase P34H, CD52, and GPR64. In addition, we introduce novel proteinases and protease inhibitor gene families with potentially important roles in regulating the sperm maturation process. Furthermore, potential contraceptive strategies as well as delivery methods will be discussed. Despite the progress made in recent years, further studies are needed to reveal further details in the epididymal sperm maturation process and the factors involved, in order to facilitate the development of new epididymal contraceptives.
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PMID:Novel epididymal proteins as targets for the development of post-testicular male contraception. 1913 60