title: Testase 1 (ADAM 24) a sperm surface metalloprotease is required for normal fertility in mice.
abstract: ADAM family members play important roles in various physiological and pathological processes, for example, fertilization, embryogenesis, neurogenesis, and development of asthma and arthritis (Primakoff and Myles, 2000. Trends Genet 16: 83-87; Edwards et al., 2008. Mol Aspects Med 29: 258-289). We previously reported that testase 1 (ADAM 24) is the first identified metalloprotease present on the surface of mature sperm. To investigate a potential role of testase 1 in fertilization, we generated testase 1 deficient mice. Testase 1 null male mice showed reduced fertility, producing only half the number of offspring when compared to wild-type littermates. In a standard in vitro fertilization assay, we found that sperm lacking testase 1 gave rise to polyspermic fertilization, a phenotypic feature that might contribute to failure of normal embryo development due to polyaneuploidy. Furthermore, in vivo, we found that testase 1 null males produced a higher number of polyspermic embryos at the pronuclear stage. These findings suggest that testase 1 is a sperm plasma membrane component which contributes to the prevention of polyspermy at the level of the oocyte plasma membrane.
authors: Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors: Guo-Zhang
authors: GZ
authors: Zhu
authors: Surabhi
authors: S
authors: Gupta
authors: Diana Gold
authors: DG
authors: Myles
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Primakoff
mesh_terms: D051722:ADAM Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D000072196:Fertilins; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics*; D005306:Fertilization / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D051722:ADAM Proteins; C120568:Adam24 protein, mouse; C485429:Adam3 protein, mouse; D000072196:Fertilins