Cloning of boar SPMI gene which is expressed specifically in seminal vesicle and codes for a sperm motility inhibitor protein

• Published in: FEBS letters Vol. 368; no. 3; pp. 420 - 424
• Main Authors: Iwamoto, Teruaki, Hiroaki, Hidekazu, Furuichi, Yasuhiro, Wada, Kenji, Satoh, Miki, Satoh, Misako, Osada, Takao, Gagnon, Claude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 24.07.1995
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Boar SPMI; Cloning, Molecular; Demembranated-reactivated spermatozoa; DNA, Complementary; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Proteins - genetics; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Seminal plasma; Seminal plasma sperm motility inhibitor; Seminal vesicle protein; Seminal Vesicle Secretory Proteins; Seminal Vesicles - metabolism; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Sperm Motility - physiology; Spermadhesin; Swine; Spermadhesin; Demembranated-reactivated spermatozoa; Seminal vesicle protein; Seminal plasma; Seminal plasma sperm motility inhibitor; Boar SPMI
• ISSN: 0014-5793; 1873-3468
• DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(95)00701-A

Boar semen contains a seminal plasma motility inhibitor (SPMI) that blocks the motility of demembranated-reactivated spermatozoa as well as of intact spermatozoa. In this paper, we describe the primary structure of SPMI, the coding of boar SPMI cDNA gene and its expression in various porcine tissues. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 645-bp SPMI cDNA predicts a coded polypeptide of 137 amino acid residues which includes a 21-residue signal peptide and a 116-residue secreted protein. The amino acid sequence of SPMI was found to be highly homologous to AQN-3, a member of spermadhesin family proteins of boar that bind to spermatozoa. Expression of the boar SPMI gene detected by Northern blot analysis revealed that its expression is very abundant in seminal vesicles and specific to this tissue.