Disease relevance of SPAG9

• Immunization of female BALB/cJ mice with pcDNA-hSPAG9 plasmid DNA in saline by intramuscular (i.m.), by adsorbing onto gold microcarriers (delivered by gene gun) and by recombinant hSPAG9 (r-hSPAG9) protein generated antibody response against Escherichia coli expressed r-hSPAG9 protein and native SPAG9 in human sperm [1].
• Spatial and temporal circulation of dengue virus serotypes: a prospective study of primary school children in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand [2].
• Leptospirosis in kamphaeng phet, Thailand [3].
• PCR on 52 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens and 33 brain biopsies obtained from HIV-1 positive patients utilized pairs of primers from both the early region (JTP) and late region (JLP) [4].
• To examine the immunogenicity of the plasmid DNA encoding human sperm associated antigen 9 (hSPAG9), the cDNA corresponding to hSPAG9 was cloned in mammalian expression vector pcDNA 3.1 down stream of cytomegalovirus promoter [1].

Psychiatry related information on SPAG9

• Event-related potentials (ERPs) were examined in 16 college students who had high scores on the Schizophrenia Scale of the MMPI (HSS) but were without a hereditary disposition for major psychiatric disorders [5].
• The experimental groups (L and P type dyslexia) were presented with hemisphere specific stimulation (HSS) and hemispheric alluding stimuli (HAS) [6].
• Hybridization tests among the four laboratory-raised isolines of An. aconitus Form B (Chiang Mai and Phet Buri) and C (Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son) were employed by induced copulation [7].

High impact information on SPAG9

• Kinesin-dependent axonal transport is mediated by the sunday driver (SYD) protein [8].
• Activation of p38{alpha}/{beta} MAPK in myogenesis via binding of the scaffold protein JLP to the cell surface protein Cdo [9].
• One candidate, sunday driver, is proposed to both link kinesin-I to an unknown vesicular cargo and to bind and organize the mitogen-activated protein kinase components of a c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling module [10].
• PHET appeared to be a member of the UniGene cluster Hs.129872, but had a unique exon composition and a characteristic mRNA expression profile restricted to the testis [11].
• These findings suggest that the autoantibody response to PHET can be induced by ectopic overexpression of PHET in dermal fibroblasts in SSc patients [11].

Biological context of SPAG9

• Microsequencing of higher-order aggregates of recombinant SPAG9 by tandem MS confirmed the amino acid sequence and mono atomic mass of 83.9 kDa [12].
• SPAG9, a single copy gene mapped to the human chromosome 17q21.33 syntenic with location of mouse chromosome 11, was earlier shown to be expressed exclusively in testis [Shankar, Mohapatra and Suri (1998) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 243, 561-565] [12].
• Transient expression of SPAG9 and its deletion mutants revealed that both leucine zipper with extended coiled-coil domains and transmembrane domain of SPAG9 were essential for dimerization and proper localization [12].
• NCBI Blast searches revealed SPAG9 nucleotide sequence similarities with ESTs of various cancerous tissues [13].
• The present investigation will eventually extend the application of SPAG9 siRNA in in vivo targeting experiments that aim to define the SPAG9 functional genomics in tumor and reproductive biology [13].

Anatomical context of SPAG9

• Polyclonal antibodies raised against recombinant SPAG9 recognized native protein in human sperm extracts and localized specifically on the acrosomal compartment of intact human spermatozoa [12].
• Further, anti-SPAG9 antibodies inhibited the binding of human spermatozoa to intact human oocytes as well as to matched hemizona [12].
• Northern analysis and RNA in situ hybridization experiments revealed testis- and stage-specific expressions of macaque SPAG9 mRNA, mainly confined to round spermatid suggesting haploid germ cell expression [14].
• SPAG9 is an acrosomal molecule which is not only restricted to a specific region (domain) of the acrosome but also undergoes relocation to the equatorial region in a stage-specific manner during acrosome reaction, demonstrating its potential role in sperm-egg binding [15].
• In this study we describe SSc-specific autoantibody to a novel testicular Ag, termed protein highly expressed in testis (PHET), which is ectopically overexpressed in SSc dermal fibroblasts [11].

Associations of SPAG9 with chemical compounds

• In addition, SPAG9 protein revealed structural homology with c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) interacting protein (JIP) [16].
• HSS proteins were subjected to sucrose density gradient centrifugation and gel filtration, and the fractions obtained were assayed for clathrin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), followed by immunoblotting [17].
• Sperm surface sulfhydryls labeled with iodoacetamide fluorescein showed that spermatozoa devoid of sulfhydryls on the head surface adhered to the fallopian epithelium in vitro, whereas thiol-induced release increased the exposure of sulfhydryls on the sperm head surface [18].
• Sperm surface proteins accessible to vectorial labeling with 125I or N-hydroxysuccinimide biotin were identified; 181 protein spots were radiolabeled with 125I, while 228 protein spots were biotinylated, including several groups of protein isoforms [19].
• HSS ChE, an acetylcholinesterase, is also solubilized by heparin, like typical vertebrate HSS asymmetric enzymes [20].

Other interactions of SPAG9

• Small interference RNA-mediated knockdown of sperm associated antigen 9 having structural homology with c-Jun N-terminal kinase-interacting protein [13].
• The amino acid sequence analysis of SPAG9 predicted coiled coil, leucine zipper and transmembrane domain, speculating the involvement of SPAG9 mediated signal transduction pathways in reproductive processes [16].
• Serum Abs to a recombinant PHET fragment were detected in nine (8.4%) of 107 SSc patients, but in none of 50 systemic lupus erythematosus patients or 77 healthy controls [11].
• Sperm surface proteins after capacitation. Expression of vitronectin on the spermatozoan head and laminin on the sperm tail [21].
• Sperm-specific isozyme LDH-X (LDH-C4) in the semen of some infertile men with a normal sperm concentration was absent [22].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of SPAG9

• Acrosome-reacted spermatozoa demonstrated SPAG9 immunofluorescence, indicating its retention on the equatorial segment after the acrosome reaction [12].
• Anti-human SPAG9 antibodies recognized the acrosomal compartment region of baboon sperm in indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) [23].
• Immunoblotting analysis employing anti-rhSPAG9 antibodies generated in monkeys indicated that antibodies specifically reacted with native SPAG9 from macaque and human sperm and rhSPAG9 protein [24].
• Anti-human SPAG9 antibodies recognized native SPAG9 in macaque sperm extract in Western blotting and the acrosomal compartment region of macaque sperm in indirect immunofluorescence [14].
• Flow cytometry analysis further revealed surface localization of macaque SPAG9 in live macaque sperm [14].

References