title: Presence of N-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor (NSF) on the acrosome of mammalian sperm.
abstract: We have extended previous observations to show that the ATPase N-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor (NSF) an important regulator of membrane trafficking and fusion in somatic cells, is present on bovine, murine and rhesus macaque sperm. However, NSFs main effectors, alfa- and beta-SNAP, although present in the developing acrosome, could not be detected in the mature organelle. The fact that NSF localizes mainly to the acrosome suggests that this protein, together with other factors such as rabs and SNAREs, may be a common feature in the triggering/regulation of membrane merging during the mammalian acrosome reaction.
authors.affiliation: Pittsburgh Development Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. jramalho@ci.uc.pt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramalho-Santos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schatten
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000737:chemistry*; D020101:Acrosome Reaction; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D051379:Mice; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D050600:SNARE Proteins; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins