title: Tssk4 is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of sperm flagellum.
abstract: Tssk4 belongs to the Testis Specific Serine/threonine protein Kinase (TSSK) family, members of which play an important role in spermatogenesis and/or spermiogenesis. Several Tssk family proteins have extensively been studied. However, the exact function of Tssk4 remains unclear. A Tssk4 knockout mouse model was generated and the males were subfertile due to seriously decreased sperm motility. The ultrastructure of the Tssk4(-/-)sperm tail is disorganized at the midpiece-principal piece junction, leading to a severe bend in the sperm flagellum. One or more axonemal microtubule doublets are absent and the midpiece is fused with the principal piece. Furthermore, we identified the association between Tssk4 and Odf2, a prominent cytoskeletal protein of the outer dense fiber (ODF) in sperm flagellum. Tssk4 can change the phosphorylation state of Odf2 and conversely Odf2 potentiates the autophosphorylation activity of Tssk4. These findings reveal that Tssk4 is required for maintaining the structural integrity of sperm flagellum and male fertility.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China longyu@fudan.edu.cn yhwei@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Youheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guolong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hexige
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saiyin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Model Organisms, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zhugang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China longyu@fudan.edu.cn yhwei@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013082:Sperm Tail / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C490106:Odf2 protein, mouse; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C529883:Tssk4 protein, mouse
keywords: Odf2; Tssk4; male fertility; sperm motility; structural integrity