NCBI Summary:
The correlation of anti-sperm antibodies with cases of unexplained infertility implicates a role for these antibodies in blocking fertilization. Improved diagnosis and treatment of immunologic infertility, as well as identification of proteins for targeted contraception, are dependent on the identification and characterization of relevant sperm antigens. The protein expressed by this gene is recognized by anti-sperm agglutinating antibodies from an infertile woman. Furthermore, immunization of female rats with the recombinant human protein reduced fertility. This protein localizes to the plasma membrane of germ cells in the testis and to the post-acrosomal plasma membrane of mature spermatozoa. Recombinant polypeptide binds GTP and exhibits GTPase activity. Thus, this protein may regulate GTP signal transduction pathways involved in spermatogenesis and fertilization. Two transcript variants of this gene encode the same protein. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
General function
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Cellular localization
Plasma membrane
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Ovarian function
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Expression regulated by
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Ovarian localization
Oocyte
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Genomewide discovery and classification of candidate ovarian fertility genes in the mouse. Gallardo TD et al. Female infertility syndromes are among the most prevalent chronic health disorders in women, but their genetic basis remains unknown because of uncertainty regarding the number and identity of ovarian factors controlling the assembly, preservation, and maturation of ovarian follicles. To systematically discover ovarian fertility genes en masse, we employed a mouse model (Foxo3) in which follicles are assembled normally but then undergo synchronous activation. We developed a microarray-based approach for the systematic discovery of tissue-specific genes and, by applying it to Foxo3 ovaries and other samples, defined a surprisingly large set of ovarian factors (n = 348, approximately 1% of the mouse genome). This set included the vast majority of known ovarian factors, 44% of which when mutated produce female sterility phenotypes, but most were novel. Comparative profiling of other tissues, including microdissected oocytes and somatic cells, revealed distinct gene classes and provided new insights into oogenesis and ovarian function, demonstrating the utility of our approach for tissue-specific gene discovery. This study will thus facilitate comprehensive analyses of follicle development, ovarian function, and female infertility. This is an oocyte-specific gene.
Follicle stages
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Phenotypes
Mutations
1 mutations
Species: other
Mutation name: type: None fertility: None Comment: Knowles et al. (2013) found that morpholino knockdown of the Spag1 ortholog in zebrafish resulted in defects consistent with a ciliopathy, including dorsal body axis curvature and hydrocephalus