|
|
Article: New sperm-specific Na+/H+ exchanger required for sperm motility and fertility.
- Article from:
- Biotech Week
- Article date:
- February 4, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 NewsRX. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
2004 FEB 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new sperm-specific Na+/H+ exchanger is required for sperm motility and fertility.
"It has long been speculated that intracellular pH is a critical regulator of both invertebrate and vertebrate sperm motility, and sodium-hydrogen exchange has been suggested as a mediator of such pH[subscript]i regulation in various instances. Two sodium-hydrogen exchangers (NHE1 and NHE5) are expressed in spermatozoa. However, elimination of the NHE1 gene fails to cause infertility, suggesting that normal sperm function is maintained in NHE1-null animals," investigators in the United States report.
"Here, we used a functionally ...