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Cellular and Molecular Regulation of Testicular Cells pp 135–165Cite as

Molecular and Cellular Biology of Novel Cytoskeletal Proteins in Spermatozoa

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Part of the book series: Serono Symposia USA Norwell, Massachusetts ((SERONOSYMP))

Abstract

Most of the integral components of the mature mammalian spermatozoon are made up of cytoskeletal proteins that are synthesized and assembled during the haploid phase of spermatogenesis. With the exception of various isoforms of tubulin composing the microtubules of the sperm tail (1,2) and filamentous (3–5) and nonfilamentous (6, 7) forms of actin localized in diverse regions of the sperm head and tail of various species, the majority of sperm cytoskeletal proteins appear to have no protein or structural counterparts in somatic cells. Specialized cytoskeletal elements found in the sperm tail are the outer dense fibers (ODF), the fibrous sheath (FS), the submitochondrial reticulum (8), the annulus, and the striated collar and capitulum of the neck piece [reviewed by Oko and Clermont (9)]. In the sperm head are found the perinuclear theca (PT), the outer periacrosomal layer (OPL), and the basal plate [reviewed by Oko (10)]. The isolation or extraction of many of these sperm elements is made possible by their differential resistance to protein solubilizing agents (11–21). Compositional studies have revealed that most of these elements are made up of a heterogeneous mixture of proteins of various concentrations (11–21).

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Authors
  1. Richard J. Oko
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  2. Carlos R. Morales
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA

    Claude Desjardins Ph.D.

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Oko, R.J., Morales, C.R. (1996). Molecular and Cellular Biology of Novel Cytoskeletal Proteins in Spermatozoa. In: Desjardins, C. (eds) Cellular and Molecular Regulation of Testicular Cells. Serono Symposia USA Norwell, Massachusetts. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2374-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2374-0_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7519-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2374-0

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