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PMID: 20972450 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

The role of cysteine-rich secretory proteins in male fertility.

Asian journal of andrology ·Vol. 13 ·No. 1 ·2011-01-00 ·Pages 111-7

Koppers AJ, Reddy T, O'Bryan MK

Abstract

The cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) are a subgroup of the CRISP, antigen 5 and Pr-1 (CAP) protein superfamily, and are found only in vertebrates. They show a strong expression bias to the mammalian male reproductive tract and the venom of poisonous reptiles. Within the male reproductive tract CRISPs have been implicated in many aspects of male germ cell biology spanning haploid germ cell development, epididymal maturation, capacitation, motility and the actual processes of fertilization. At a structural level, CRISPs are composed of two domains, a CAP domain, which has been implicated in cell-cell adhesion, and a CRISP domain, which has been shown to regulate several classes of ion channels across multiple species. Herein, we will review the current literature on the role of CRISPs in male fertility, and by inference to related non-mammalian protein, infer potential biochemical functions.

MeSH Terms
Animals Epididymis/metabolism Fertility/physiology Male Seminal Plasma Proteins/metabolism Spermatogenesis/physiology Spermatozoa/metabolism
Chemicals
Seminal Plasma Proteins
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Koppers Adam J
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
Reddy Thulasimala
O'Bryan Moira K
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Article Info
Journal
Asian journal of andrology
Abbr.
Asian J Androl
ISSN
1745-7262
DOI
10.1038/aja.2010.77
Published
2011-01-00
Epub
2010-00-25
Pages
111-7
Language
English
Region
China
NLM ID
100942132
PMCID
PMC3739402
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/aja.2010.77 PMC Full Text View journal details
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