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Acta Physiologica 2010; Volume 200, Supplement 678 Part II
Belgian Society for Fundamental and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, Autumn Meeting 2010
10/16/2010-10/16/2010
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium


CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SIGNALING PATHWAY OF THE ACROSOME REACTION IN HUMAN SPERM
Abstract number: O-07

Solis1 A., Sanchez-Tusie1 A.A., Churchill2 G., De Blas1 G.A., Darszon1 A., Trevino1 C.

1Departamento de Gentica del Desarrollo y Fisiologa Molecular. Instituto de Biotecnologa, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Cuernava, 62210, Mxico.
2Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QT, U.K.

Although the Acrosome Reaction (AR) is a fundamental exocytic event for fertilization, the signaling pathway involved in this process is not completely understood. The physiological induction of the AR triggers a biphasic Ca2+ influx; however, the molecular entities involved in this process are not clearly defined. A model of the signaling pathway during the AR that implies the participation of the Exchange Protein directly Activated by cAMP (Epac) has been proposed. We speculate that Epac might activate the enzyme (CD38) that catalyzes the production of nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), which in turn activates the intracellular Two Pore Channels (TPC), releasing a small amount of Ca2+ that would convey the signal to other channels (IP3R and RyR) releasing more Ca2+, and amplifying the response. In the present work we employ the EPAC specific cAMP analogue (8-pCPT-2'-O-Me-cAMP) to trigger the Ca2+ rise in the presence or absence of specific channel inhibitors to confirm or rule out the participation of these components in the proposed signaling pathway. We would characterize the process by 1) Measuring the intracellular Ca2+ change in sperm loaded with a fluorescent Ca2+ indicator and 2) Evaluating the percentage of sperm that undergo the AR in different conditions. Our preliminary results suggest that the TPC and IP3R are implicated in the signaling pathway of the AR trigger by Epac.

To cite this abstract, please use the following information:
Acta Physiologica 2010; Volume 200, Supplement 678 Part II :O-07

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