title: Soluble adenylyl cyclase of sea urchin spermatozoa.
abstract: Fertilization, a key step in sexual reproduction, requires orchestrated changes in cAMP concentrations. It is notable that spermatozoa (sperm) are among the cell types with extremely high adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity. As production and consumption of this second messenger need to be locally regulated, the discovery of soluble AC (sAC) has broadened our understanding of how such cells deal with these requirements. In addition, because sAC is directly regulated by HCO(3)(-) it is able to translate CO₂/HCO(3)(-)/pH changes into cAMP levels. Fundamental sperm functions such as maturation, motility regulation and the acrosome reaction are influenced by cAMP; this is especially true for sperm of the sea urchin (SU), an organism that has been a model in the study of fertilization for more than 130 years. Here we summarize the discovery and properties of SU sperm sAC, and discuss its involvement in sperm physiology. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The role of soluble adenylyl cyclase in health and disease.
authors: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA. Electronic address: vvacquier@ucsd.edu.
authors: Victor D
authors: VD
authors: Vacquier
authors: Departamento de Neurociencia Cognitiva, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal 04510, Mexico. Electronic address: aloza@email.ifc.unam.mx.
authors: Arlet
authors: A
authors: Loza-Huerta
authors: Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, Mexico. Electronic address: jgarcia@ibt.unam.mx.
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: García-Rincón
authors: Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, Mexico. Electronic address: darszon@ibt.unam.mx.
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Darszon
authors: Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, Mexico. Electronic address: beltran@ibt.unam.mx.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Beltrán
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002633:Chemotaxis; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012617:Sea Urchins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases
keywords: Adenylyl cyclase; Fertilization; Flagellar motility; Micro-domain; Sea urchin sperm; Sperm chemotaxis