Regulation of sperm motility at the axonemal level

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 847 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Gagnon

With very few exceptions, the basic structure of the 9+2 axoneme has been well preserved over a very long period of evolution from protozoa to mammais. This stability indicates that the basic structural components of the axoneme visible by electron microscopy, as well as most of the other unidentified components, have withstood the passage of time. It also means that components of the 9+2 axoneme have sufficient diversity in function to accommodate the various types of motility patterns encountered in different species of flagella. Several of the 200 polypeptides that constitute the axoneme have been identified as components of the dynein arms, radial spokes etc. but many more remain to be identified and their function(s) remain to be determined. Because this review deals with the regulation of flagellar movement at the axonemal level, it does not include regulation of flagella by extracellular factors unless these factors have a direct action on axonemal components. In this context, it is very important firstly to understand the structural components of the axoneme and how they influence and regulate axonemal movement. Different primitive organisms are mentioned in this review since major breakthroughs in our understanding of how an axoneme generates different types of movement have been made through their study. Despite some variations in structure and function of axonemal components, the basic mechanisms involved in the regulation of flagella from Chlamydomonas or sea urchin spermatozoa should also apply to the more evolved mammalian species, including human spermatozoa.

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (08) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Spraggon ◽  
Stephen Everse ◽  
Russell Doolittle

IntroductionAfter a long period of anticipation,1 the last two years have witnessed the first high-resolution x-ray structures of fragments from fibrinogen and fibrin.2-7 The results confirmed many aspects of fibrinogen structure and function that had previously been inferred from electron microscopy and biochemistry and revealed some unexpected features. Several matters have remained stubbornly unsettled, however, and much more work remains to be done. Here, we review several of the most significant findings that have accompanied the new x-ray structures and discuss some of the problems of the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion that remain unresolved. * Abbreviations: GPR—Gly-Pro-Arg-derivatives; GPRPam—Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro-amide; GHRPam—Gly-His-Arg-Pro-amide


2011 ◽  
Vol 1808 (2) ◽  
pp. 580-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Thiel ◽  
Dirk Baumeister ◽  
Indra Schroeder ◽  
Stefan M. Kast ◽  
James L. Van Etten ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Zhou ◽  
Chang Su ◽  
Shuqi Xu ◽  
Linyuan Lü

Abstract In real-world networks, there usually exist a small set of nodes that play an important role in the structure and function of networks. Those vital nodes can influence most other nodes in the network via a spreading process. While most of the existing works focused on vital nodes that can maximize the spreading size in the final stage, which we call final influencers, recent work proposed the idea of fast influencers, which emphasizes nodes’ spreading capacity at the early stage. Despite the recent surge of efforts in identifying these two types of influencers in networks, there remained limited research on untangling the differences between fast influencers and final influencers. In this paper, we first distinguish the two types of influencers: fast-only influencers and final-only influencers. The former is defined as individuals who can achieve a high spreading effect at the early stage but lose their superiority in the final stage, and the latter are those individuals that fail to exhibit a prominent spreading performance at the early stage but influence a large fraction of nodes at the final stage. Further experiments based on eight empirical datasets, we reveal the key differences between the two types of influencers concerning their spreading capacity and the local structures. We also analyze how network degree assortativity influences the fraction of the proposed two types of influencers. The results demonstrate that with the increase of degree assortativity, the fraction of the fast-only influencers decreases, which indicates that more fast influencers tend to keep their superiority at the final stage. Our study provides insights into the differences and evolution of different types of influencers and has important implications for various empirical applications, such as advertisement marketing, and epidemic suppressing.


Author(s):  
Madeleine Keehner ◽  
Peter Khooshabeh ◽  
Mary Hegarty

This chapter examines human factors associated with using interactive three-dimensional (3D) visualizations. Virtual representations of anatomical structure and function, often with sophisticated user control capabilities, are growing in popularity in medicine for education, training, and simulation. This chapter reviews the cognitive science literature and introduces issues such as theoretical ideas related to using interactive visualizations, different types and levels of interactivity, effects of different kinds of control interfaces, and potential cognitive benefits of these tools. The authors raise the question of whether all individuals are equally capable of using 3D visualizations effectively, focusing particularly on two variables: (1) individual differences in spatial abilities, and (2) individual differences in interactive behavior. The chapter draws together findings from the authors’ own studies and from the wider literature, exploring recent insights into how individual differences among users can impact the effectiveness of different types of external visualizations for different kinds of tasks. The chapter offers recommendations for design, such as providing transparent affordances to support users’ meta-cognitive understanding, and employing personalization to complement the capabilities of different individuals. Finally, the authors suggest future directions and approaches for research, including the use of methodology such as needs analysis and contextual enquiry to better understand the cognitive processes and capacities of different kinds of users.


2014 ◽  
Vol 602-605 ◽  
pp. 499-502
Author(s):  
Yan Yuan ◽  
Le Cao

A drawer-combined condiment container was designed, and the design methods and steps were illustrated from four aspects, including the structure and function, material selection, dimensioning, modeling and decoration. With the integrated storage and independent sealing of different types of condiment, as well as the pickup of improved fluid condiment, it is characterized by cleanliness, convenience in application, space-saving and reusable features when compared to the like product. Therefore, it is of application and promotion value in the packing container design and related industries.


Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 91 (12) ◽  
pp. 4593-4599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony L. Yang ◽  
Jisong Cui ◽  
Alnawaz Rehumtulla ◽  
Angela Yang ◽  
Micheline Moussalli ◽  
...  

Factor V (FV) is a central regulator of hemostasis, serving both as a critical cofactor for the prothrombinase activity of factor Xa and the target for proteolytic inactivation by the anticoagulant, activated protein C (APC). To examine the evolutionary conservation of FV procoagulant activity and functional inactivation by APC, we cloned and sequenced the coding region of murine FV cDNA and generated recombinant wild-type and mutant murine FV proteins. The murine FV cDNA encodes a 2,183-amino acid protein. Sequence comparison shows that the A1-A3 and C1-C2 domains of FV are highly conserved, demonstrating greater than 84% sequence identity between murine and human, and 60% overall amino acid identity among human, bovine, and murine FV sequences. In contrast, only 35% identity among all three species is observed for the poorly conserved B domain. The arginines at all thrombin cleavage sites and the R305 and R504 APC cleavage sites (corresponding to amino acid residues R306 and R506 in human FV) are invariant in all three species. Point mutants were generated to substitute glutamine at R305, R504, or both (R305/R504). Wild-type and all three mutant FV recombinant proteins show equivalent FV procoagulant activity. Single mutations at R305 or R504 result in partial resistance of FV to APC inactivation, whereas recombinant murine FV carrying both mutations (R305Q/R504Q) is nearly completely APC resistant. Thus, the structure and function of FV and its interaction with APC are highly conserved across mammalian species.


1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
G B Witman ◽  
J Plummer ◽  
G Sander

The fine structure, protein composition, and roles in flagellar movement of specific axonemal components were studied in wild-type Chlamydomonas and paralyzed mutants pf-14, pf-15A, and pf-19. Electron microscope examination of the isolated axoneme of pf-14 showed that it lacks the radial spokes but is otherwise structurally normal. Comparison of isolated axonemes of wild type and pf-14 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the mutant is missing a protein of 118,000 mol wt; this protein is apparently a major component of the spokes. Pf-15A and pf-19 lack the central tubules and sheath; axonemes of these mutants are missing three high molecular weight proteins which are probably components of the central tubule-central sheath complex. Under conditions where wild-type axonemes reactivated, axonemes of the three mutants remained intact but did not form bends. However, mutant and wild-type axonemes underwent identical adenosine triphosphate-induced disintegration after treatment with trypsin; the dynein arms of the mutants are therefore capable of generating interdoublet shearing forces. These findings indicated that both the radial spokes and the central tubule-central sheath complex are essential for conversion of interdoublet sliding into axonemal bending. Moreover, because axonemes of pf-14 remained intact under reactivating conditions, the nexin links alone are sufficient to limit the amount of interdoublet sliding that occurs. The axial periodicities of the central sheath, dynein arms, radial spokes, and nexin links of Chlamydomonas were determined by electron microscopy using the lattice-spacing of crystalline catalase as an internal standard. Some new ultrastructural details of the components are described.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (5) ◽  
pp. H2667-H2679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Hwa ◽  
William C. Aird

In 1628, William Harvey provided definitive evidence that blood circulates. The notion that blood travels around the body in a circle raised the important question of how nutrients pass between blood and underlying tissue. Perhaps, Harvey posited, arterial blood pours into the flesh as into a sponge, only then to find its way into the veins. Far from solving this problem, Marcello Malpighi's discovery of the capillaries in 1661 only added to the dilemma: surely, some argued, these entities are little more than channels drilled into tissues around them. As we discuss in this review, it would take over 200 years to arrive at a consensus on the basic structure and function of the capillary wall. A consideration of the history of this period provides interesting insights into not only the central importance of the capillary as a focus of investigation, but also the enormous challenges associated with studying these elusive structures.


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