scholarly journals Evidence for Distinct Serine Protease Activities with a Potential Role in Processing the Sperm Protein Fertilin

1997 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Lum ◽  
Carl P. Blobel
2007 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 23-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Saunders ◽  
Karl Swann ◽  
F. Anthony Lai

A dramatic rise in intracellular calcium plays a vital role at the moment of fertilization, eliciting the resumption of meiosis and the initiation of embryo development. In mammals, the rise takes the form of oscillations in calcium concentration within the egg, driven by an elevation in inositol trisphosphate. The causative agent of these oscillations is proposed to be a recently described phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C, PLCζ, a soluble sperm protein that is delivered into the egg following membrane fusion. In the present review, we examine some of the distinctive structural and functional characteristics of this crucial enzyme that sets it apart from the other known forms of mammalian PLC.


2010 ◽  
Vol 327 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa A. Bowden ◽  
Ann E. Drummond ◽  
Peter J. Fuller ◽  
Lois A. Salamonsen ◽  
Jock K. Findlay ◽  
...  

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Swann ◽  
M G Larman ◽  
C M Saunders ◽  
F A Lai

When sperm activate eggs at fertilization the signal for activation involves increases in the intracellular free Ca2+concentration. In mammals the Ca2+changes at fertilization consist of intracellular Ca2+oscillations that are driven by the generation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3). It is not established how sperm trigger the increases in InsP3and Ca2+at fertilization. One theory suggests that sperm initiate signals to activate the egg by introducing a specific factor into the egg cytoplasm after membrane fusion. This theory has been mainly based upon the observation that injecting a cytosolic sperm protein factor into eggs can trigger the same pattern of Ca2+oscillations induced by the sperm. We have recently shown that this soluble sperm factor protein is a novel form of phospholipase C (PLC), and it is referred to as PLCζ(zeta). We describe the evidence that led to the identification of PLCζ and discuss the issues relating to its potential role in fertilization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-459
Author(s):  
Lalith K. Chaganti ◽  
Shubhankar Dutta ◽  
Raja Reddy Kuppili ◽  
Mriganka Mandal ◽  
Kakoli Bose

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1393-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Brand

Abstract The Popeye domain-containing gene family encodes a novel class of cAMP effector proteins in striated muscle tissue. In this short review, we first introduce the protein family and discuss their structure and function with an emphasis on their role in cyclic AMP signalling. Another focus of this review is the recently discovered role of POPDC genes as striated muscle disease genes, which have been associated with cardiac arrhythmia and muscular dystrophy. The pathological phenotypes observed in patients will be compared with phenotypes present in null and knockin mutations in zebrafish and mouse. A number of protein–protein interaction partners have been discovered and the potential role of POPDC proteins to control the subcellular localization and function of these interacting proteins will be discussed. Finally, we outline several areas, where research is urgently needed.


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