Presence of expression products of c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2/HER2 genes on mammalian sperm cell, and effects of their regulation on fertilization.
The present study was conducted to investigate the presence of expression products of c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2/HER2 genes on mammalian sperm cell, and study the effects of their antibodies on fertilization. The mature sperm cells from various mammalian species (human, mouse, rabbit and rat) were found to have EGF-receptors but not the p185HER2 molecules by indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFT) and Western blot procedure. Though the EGF-receptors present on sperm cells were functionally active and responded to ligand binding, their activation by EGF or blocking by antibodies did not affect the sperm cells in acquiring their fertilization potential. These results indicate that the products of c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2/HER2 genes, though they have been shown to have tyrosine kinase enzyme activity, do not seem to play a major role in the development of the fertilizing capacity of sperm cells.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461.
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Ahmad
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006224:Cricetinae; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D005306:Fertilization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D013045:Species Specificity; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases