Characterization, expression pattern and chromosomal localization of the spermatogenesis associated 6 gene (Spata6).

We report the cloning and characterization of the spermatogenesis associated 6 gene (Spata6) encoding a predicted protein of 488 amino acids. It exhibits similarity with the motor domain of kinesin related proteins and with the Caenorhabditis elegans neural calcium sensor protein (NCS-2). The gene encodes three mRNAs of approximately 2.

Mouse pelota gene (Pelo): cDNA cloning, genomic structure, and chromosomal localization.

The pelota gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a protein which is included in cell cycle regulation. Mutations were found to result in spermatogenic arrest, female sterility and disturbances in the patterning of the eye. We have recently isolated and characterized cDNA clones coding for the human pelota gene (PELO).

Proacrosin-deficient mice and zona pellucida modifications in an experimental model of multifactorial infertility.

In humans, male and female partners contribute more or less equally to the infertility problem. In approximately 20% of infertile couples, the concurrence of male and female factors is suggested to be responsible for infertility. Neither of these factors are known nor is there a model system to prove this assumption.

Human cyritestin genes (CYRN1 and CYRN2) are non-functional.

The mouse cyritestin gene is a member of the ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) gene family and codes for a membrane-anchored sperm protein. Recently, it was shown that cyritestin is critical for male fertility in the mouse. Spermatozoa of cyritestin-deficient mice are not able to bind to the zona pellucida of the oocyte and therefore unable to fertilize the egg.

Cloning, organisation, chromosomal localization and expression analysis of the mouse Prkag1 gene.

The mammalian 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric protein consisting of alpha-, beta- and gamma-subunits. The alpha-subunit is the catalytic subunit. The non-catalytic subunits AMPK-beta and AMPK-gamma form, together with the catalytic AMPK-alpha, the active kinase complex in mammals and its homologue in yeast.