Formation of copulatory plugs by male animals is a common means of reducing competition with rival males. In mice, copulatory plugs are formed by the coagulation of seminal vesicle secretion (SVS), which is a very viscous and self-clotting fluid containing high concentration of proteins. In its native state, mouse SVS contains a variety of disulfide-linked high-molecular-weight complexes (HMWCs) composed of mouse SVS I-III, which are the major components of mouse SVS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: As prognosis for patients with metastatic ovarian cancer is generally poor, advances in treatment are needed. Here, we studied the mechanism of action of a recombinant viral capsid protein (rVP1) and explored its effect against ovarian tumour growth and metastasis in vivo.
Experimental Approach: The human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and BALB/cAnN-Foxn1 female nude mice were used.
Using mice as experimental animals, proteins in the uterine luminal fluid (ULF) from both adults and diethylstilbestrol dipropionate (DES)-treated immature animals were resolved by 2D gel electrophoresis. Two of the protein spots, (a) and (b) around the positions of 18-20 kDa, in the adult ULF were not found in the DES-treated ULF. Automated Edman degradation established the same N-terminal sequences of AHQVPVKTKGKHVFP for the two protein spots.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe identified a testis-specific protease-like protein tentatively named TESPL and a pancreatic trypsinogen Prss2 from the clones of a yeast two-hybrid screen against a mouse testicular cDNA library using the trypsin inhibitor Spink3 from male accessory sexual glands as bait. The enzymatic motifs and the cysteine patterns in serine proteases are highly conserved in these two proteins. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, Prss2 duplicated recently and TESPL underwent distant evolution without gene duplication from the progenitor of trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like proteases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSyncytin 2 is a newly identified placental membrane protein with fusogenic and immunosuppressive activities. Major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A (MFSD2A) is the cognate receptor for syncytin 2-mediated cell-cell fusion. Both syncytin 2 and MFSD2A are highly expressed in placenta.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSVS I was exclusively expressed in seminal vesicle in which the protein was immunolocalized primarily to the luminal epithelium of mucosal folds. The developmental profile of its mRNA expression was shown to be androgen-dependent, manifesting a positive correlation with the animal's maturation. There are 43 glutamine and 43 lysine residues in one molecule of SVS I, which is one of the seven major monomer proteins tentatively assigned on reducing SDS-PAGE during the resolution of mouse seminal vesicle secretion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci
December 2008
A 75-kDa protein secreted from mouse coagulating gland was purified to homogeneity by a series of isolation steps including ion exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sephacel column and ion exchange high-performance liquid chromatography on a sulfopropyl column. It was identified to be Type IV transglutaminase (TG(4)), based on the establishment of N-terminal sequences by automated Edman degradation together with partial sequences by MS analysis. Its cross-linking activity was tested on the reduced sample of mouse seminal secretion which contained seven major monomer proteins tentatively designated as SVS I-VII.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMammalian sperm gain the ability to fertilize an egg successfully by the capacitation process. An unregulated capacitation process causes sperm to undergo a spontaneous acrosome reaction (AR) and resulting in loss of their fertilization activity. Thus, functional sperm activation is tightly regulated by a capacitation and suppression (decapacitation) mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
October 2006
P12 is a Kazal-type trypsin inhibitor that has been purified from mouse seminal vesicle secretion. We observed a slight impact of P12 on sperm capacitation, and demonstrated the removal of plasma membrane overlaying the acrosome region by immunoaggregation of P12 on mouse sperm. Further, we compared the immunoreactivity of P12 antibody to ten P12 variants, including six single-site mutated mutants (R19L, Y21V, D22G, R43G, K44S, and R45T), two multisite mutated mutants (R43G/K44S/R45T and L50H/R52G/K53A), and two deletion mutants (Nd10 and Cd8) in which 10 and 8 residues were deleted from the N- and C-terminals, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe molecular basis of mammalian sperm capacitation, either in vivo in the female reproductive tract, or in vitro, is poorly understood. It is well known that sperm capacitation is associated with an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of a subset of proteins. We resolved the phosphoproteins in the cell lysate of mouse sperm after capacitation by 2-DE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCapacitation is the prerequisite process for sperm to gain the ability for successful fertilization. Unregulated capacitation will cause sperm to undergo a spontaneous acrosome reaction and then fail to fertilize an egg. Seminal plasma is thought to have the ability to suppress sperm capacitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCEACAM10 was purified from mouse seminal vesicle secretions by a series of purification steps that included ion exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sephacel column and ion exchange high-performance liquid chromatography on a sulfopropyl column. It was shown to be a 36-kDa glycoprotein with an N-linked carbohydrate moiety. The circular dichromoism spectrum of CEACAM10 in 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2005
Among the major proteins in the rat seminal vesicle secretion, transglutaminase catalyzed the cross-links among RSVS I-III. Six peptide sequences determined from the trypsin digests of RSVS III were confirmed in the protein sequence derived from two paralogs, RSVS III(alpha) and RSVS III(beta) gene, in rat 3q42. Their transcription units are organized with the first exon encoding a signal peptide, and the second a secreted protein, whereas the third encompasses a 3'-non-translated nucleotide that shares common features of rapidly evolving substrates of transglutaminase (REST) gene family.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSix variants of P12, a Kazal-type trypsin inhibitor in the secretion of male mouse accessory sexual glands, were made using single-site mutations including R19L, Y21V, D22G, R43G, K44S, and R45T, based on one-letter-code mutation of amino acids. The other two variants, Nd10 and Cd8, were made using the deletion of 10 and 8 residues from the N- and C-terminals, respectively. Their CD profiles revealed maintenance of the P12 conformation in the seven variants, excluding Cd8, which became unfolded.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe leading cause of food poisoning in both Taiwan and Japan is Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection, whose mechanism of enteropathogenesis is still unclear. To evaluate whether surface components are responsible for the intestinal adhesion of V. parahaemolyticus, we have developed a novel method for isolating the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) from V.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe demonstrate the presence of complement factor B (Bf) and complement C3 in uterine luminal fluid collected from estrogen-stimulated immature and adult female mice. We examined the synthesis and secretion of these two proteins in mouse endometrium at various stages of the natural estrous cycle and during the pregnancy period. The mRNA levels of these two proteins increased markedly in proestrus and estrus and declined sharply in metestrus to an undetectable level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe nucleotide sequence of MpSv-1, a novel androgen-regulated gene exclusively expressed in mouse seminal vesicle, was analyzed to establish a 5'-flanking region of 2123 bp, three exons of 95, 765, and 330 bp, and two introns of 222 and 811 bp. The transcription unit is organized with the first exon encoding a signal peptide, and the second a secreted protein, whereas the third encompasses a 3'-non-translated nucleotide that shares common features of rapid evolving substrates of transglutaminase gene family. The protein sequence deduced from this gene contains 265 amino acid residues in which the central part, residues 116-145, is a region composed of five short tandem repeats, consisting of four amino acid residues, QXK(S/T), where X is an aliphatic amino acid residue.
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