IBYME   02675
INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA Y MEDICINA EXPERIMENTAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Epididymal protein CRISP1 plays different roles during the fertilization process.
Autor/es:
COHEN DJ; MALDERA JA; VASEN G ; ERNESTO JI; WEIGEL MUÑOZ M; BATTISTONE A; CUASNICU PS
Lugar:
Aguas de Sao Pedro
Reunión:
Simposio; 5th International Conference on Epididymis; 2010
Resumen:
Rat epididymal CRISP1, the first described member of the evolutionarily conserved Cysteine-
RIch Secretory Protein (CRISP) family, is expressed in the proximal regions of the epididymis
and associates with the sperm during epididymal transit. Evidence indicates the existence of two
populations of CRISP1 in spermatozoa: a major one, loosely bound, which is released during
capacitation and, therefore proposed as a decapacitating factor, and a minor one, strongly
associated with spermatozoa, that remains on the cells after capacitation and proposed to
participate in gamete interaction. Originally localized to the dorsal region of capacitated sperm,
CRISP1 migrates to the equatorial segment with capacitation and acrosome reaction. Consistent
with these localizations, in vitro fertilization experiments support the involvement of CRISP1 in
the first step of sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) interaction and subsequent gamete fusion through its
interaction with egg-complementary sites. The potential roles of CRISP1 in capacitation and
fertilization have been further supported by the finding that capacitated spermatozoa from
CRISP1 knockout animals exhibit low levels of protein tyrosine phosphorylation and have an
impaired ability to fertilize zona-intact and zona-free eggs in vitro. Moreover, recent evidence
from mutant spermatozoa reveals that CRISP1 mediates the stage of sperm binding to the ZP.
Altogether, these observations support the view that CRISP1 is a multifunctional protein playing
different roles during fertilization through its different associations with and localizations on
spermatozoa. We believe these results contribute to a better understanding of the molecular
mechanisms involved in both the fertilization process and the acquisition of sperm fertilizing
ability that occurs during epididymal maturation.