The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Sperm enzyme is essential for male fertility, study shows

(Embargoed) CHAPEL HILL -- A study led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has determined that a novel enzyme in sperm is essential for sperm motility and male fertility.

The new study may offer a potential target for an effective, non-hormonal male contraceptive, the researchers said. The findings will be published today (Nov. 15) in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A report also will appear Nov. 23 in the journal's print edition.

Collaborating with UNC were scientists from the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); Fudan University in Shanghai, China; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sperm motility, produced by the coordinated movement of the extremely long sperm tail, requires substantial energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the major energy currency of the cell.

Specialized cellular structures known as mitochondria were thought to provide a substantial portion of the ATP needed for sperm motility. In contrast, Dr. Deborah A. O'Brien, associate professor of cell and developmental biology at UNC's School of Medicine, and her colleagues found that sperm motility and ATP production depend primarily on a metabolic pathway known as glycolysis. This pathway uses sugar to produce energy, a common process in animal and plant cells.

The researchers focused on the enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase-S, or GAPDS, a novel enzyme in the glycolytic pathway that is expressed only in germ cells very late in the process of sperm production.

GAPDS is tightly bound to a structural element that extends along most of the length of the sperm tail. The study team used gene targeting, or gene knockout technology, to produce mice that could not make this unique enzyme.

Without GAPDS, glycolysis is selectively blocked in sperm and this pathway produces no ATP. As expected, the females were normal and
'"/>

Contact: Leslie H. Lang
llang@med.unc.edu
919-843-9687
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
15-Nov-2004


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Sperm proteome gives tantalizing glimpse towards the origin of sex
2. Sperm created in the laboratory from embryonic stem cells produce viable progeny
3. Sperm stem cells closer to being like embryonic stem cells
4. Sperm trading can resolve hermaphrodite mating conflicts
5. Green tea boosts production of detox enzymes, rendering cancerous chemicals harmless
6. 2007-2008 Genzyme/ACMGF Clinical Genetics Fellowship In Biochemical Genetics award winner announced
7. NIEHS researchers identify enzyme critical in DNA replication
8. Scientists discover role of enzyme in DNA repair
9. Researchers create model of cancer-preventing enzyme, study how it works
10. Viral enzyme recruited in fight against ear infection
11. RNA enzyme structure offers a glimpse into the origins of life

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Sperm enzyme essential for male fertility study shows

(Date:11/24/2009)...search Institute (LRI) today named 12 new grant re...on, recognize innovative work across a broad spect... creativity, novelty, and potential to drive scien...cure the complex disease of systemic lupus. , Th... researchers across the nation and include interdi...
(Date:11/24/2009)...evel action of a remarkable class of ring-shaped p...th the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berk...lography beamline at the Advanced Light Source (AL...e expression and replication, and are vital to the...ctious agents, such as the human papillomavirus, w...
(Date:11/24/2009)...tutes fish food is a matter of debate. A high-prof...almost 50 percent of their carbon from trees and l...terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. , But new re...s is not likely to be true. Algae provide a much r...ing to research published this week in the Procee...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Lupus Research Institute announces 2009 novel research grants 2Lupus Research Institute announces 2009 novel research grants 3Atomic-level snapshot catches protein motor in action 2Atomic-level snapshot catches protein motor in action 3Atomic-level snapshot catches protein motor in action 4Fish food fight: Fish don't eat trees after all, says new study 2Fish food fight: Fish don't eat trees after all, says new study 3Spider Venom The Next Way to Treat Impotence 3F 58365 1Spider Venom The Next Way to Treat Impotence 3F 58365 2Infant pain adult repercussions 58363 1Infant pain adult repercussions 58363 2Infant pain adult repercussions 58363 3BUSM researchers propose a relationship between androgen deficiency and cardiovascular disease 58361 1BUSM researchers propose a relationship between androgen deficiency and cardiovascular disease 58361 2
(Date:11/24/2009)...vember24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--deCODE,genetics,In...ts,"firstday"motionsbytheU.S.BankruptcyCourtforthe...stweekfiledavoluntarypetitionfor,reliefunderChapte...cyCourt. , TheordersissuedbytheBankruptcyCour...ingtheChapter11proceedings.Inparticular,the,compan...
(Date:11/24/2009)...wswire-Asia/--ShanghaiBiolaxyannouncedthe,ChineseS...e,investigationalnewdrugapplication(IND)foritsoral...tiontotreatdiabetes.ThisIND,approvalallowsBiolaxyt...tesisadisordercharacteristicofhighbloodglucoseandp...ltinseveremicro-and,macro-vasculardiseases,lossofv...
(Date:11/24/2009)...inthasbeenmetforpatientswithadvanced-stage,orrecur...Newswire-FirstCall/-AEternaZentarisInc.(NASDAQ: AE...lcompanyfocusedonendocrinetherapyandoncology,today...tstargetedcytotoxicpeptideconjugate,AEZS-108(forme...trialcancer.Inapersonalizedhealthcareapproach,thes...
(Date:11/24/2009).../PRNewswire-FirstCall/--ArenaPharmaceuticals,Inc.(...duledtopresentatthePiperJaffray21stAnnualHealthCar...8:30a.m.PacificTime)attheNewYorkPalaceHotelinNewYo...eOfficer,isscheduledtoprovideanoverviewofthecompan...ams. ,, Aliveaudiowebcastofthepresentationwillb...
Breaking Biology Technology:deCODE genetics, Inc. Announces Approval of First Day Motions by Bankruptcy Court 2deCODE genetics, Inc. Announces Approval of First Day Motions by Bankruptcy Court 3Biolaxy Secures IND Approval for Oral Insulin 2AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 2AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 3AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 4Arena Pharmaceuticals to Present at the Piper Jaffray 21st Annual Health Care Conference 2
Other News:
...logists sort out what levels of noise go unnoticed...ysical oceanographer Jeff Nystuen is giving scient...fy the sounds present in various marine ecosystems...Applied Physics Laboratory, presented his latest f...
...e with type 2 diabetes, the death rate from a firs...e of patients without the disease. Similarly, pati...w) heart disease have a much higher mortality rate... researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center led by Geor...
If Healthy Foods Are in the House, Does That Mean Kids Will Eat Them?......The fact that parents make fruits, vegetables and low-fat items available in their homes does not necessarily lead their adol
...day meeting of the treaty's governing body is sche...tion requirements for bulk shipments of geneticall...mmodities that are intended for food, feed or proc...entary agreement to the Convention on Biological D...
Devices tease out individual sounds from underwater racket 2Joslin study provides physiological evidence that insulin is critical for blood vessel formation 2
...rsity of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., and 11 othe...an experimental vaccine aimed at protecting people...ox, has become more threatening with the emergence...oss the country hope to enroll a total of 480 peop...
...can Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) wil...h of the 2004 New Investigator Award nominees at t...t Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. The New...clinical investigators to gain experience with per...
...genes may hold the answer to whether a person's ly...ding by researchers at Stanford University School ...creen to identify people who need the most aggress...diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma, doctors use a group...
...sts have unraveled the behavior of one key compone... more effective antibiotics.......The researchers ... spot" an important regulator of gene expression....of the journal Cell.......Researchers know that th...
Researchers begin study to protect against anthrax 2AIUM recognizes new investigators in ultrasound 2Gene-based screen sorts cancer cases, say Stanford researchers 2Gene-based screen sorts cancer cases, say Stanford researchers 3Researchers describe long-perplexing 'magic spot' on bacteria 2