Channel activities, particularly those of calcium channels, have vital roles in the process of sperm maturation, motility and sperm-egg interaction. A group of the recently discovered ion channels associated with these processes is four novel channel-like proteins known as CatSper (cation channel sperm) gene family. CatSper1 and CatSper2 show sperm specific expression patterns. However, neither...

Background: Male infertility has many causes, including genetic infertility. The NOP2/Sun domain family, member7 (Nsun7) gene, which encodes putative methyltransferase Nsun7, has a role in sperm motility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the T26248G polymorphism on Nsun7 protein function and its role in male infertility. Materials and Methods: Semen samples were col...

Initial sperm-egg binding in mammals involves recognition of glycosylated proteins of egg zonae by glycosylated proteins on sperm surfaces. Egg zona protein structure is relatively simple, and has been strongly conserved. Species specificity must reside in the carbohydrate modifications on the egg surface, and in the co-ordinated assembly of a unique cohort of sperm proteins at capacitation. Fr...

 The Indian riverine buffaloes are more susceptible to variations in the environment. These variations affect seminal plasma proteins, which in turn affect fertility. This study was conducted to evaluate variations in the Indian Bubalus bubalis seminal plasma protein profile using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) during winter and summer seasons, and its relation wit...

Mammalian spermatozoa must undergo a post-ejaculatory period of maturation, known as capacitation, before they can engage in the process of fertilization. Studies in the mouse have established that capacitation facilitates sperm-zona recognition via mechanisms that involve the appearance of tyrosine phosphorylated chaperone proteins on the sperm surface overlying the acrosome, the site of sperm...

In animals, mtDNA is always transmitted through the female and this is termed "maternal inheritance." Recently, autophagy was reported to be involved in maternal inheritance by elimination of paternal mitochondria and mtDNA in Caenorhabditis elegans; moreover, by immunofluorescence, P62 and LC3 proteins were also found to colocalize to sperm mitochondria after fertilization in mice. Thus, it ha...

Introduction Sperm interacts with the female reproductive tract and oocyte through proteins, these cell-to-cell interactions may play a role in sperm fertility. For consideration of protein as potential marker fertility, there must be variability expressed among animals. The proteins dystroglycan (DAG1) plasma serine protease inhibitor (SERPINA5) have been reported to interactions. Thus, object...

Background: Male infertility has many causes, including genetic infertility. The NOP2/Sun domain family, member7 (Nsun7) gene, which encodes putative methyltransferase Nsun7, has a role in sperm motility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the T26248G polymorphism on Nsun7 protein function and its role in male infertility. Materials and Methods: Semen samples were col...