Development of a Mn-2+-sensitive, "soluble" adenylate cyclase in rat testis

A distinctive Mn-2+-sensitive adenylate cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate-lyase(cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.1] system insensitive to fluoride has been found in rat seminiferous tubules and epididymal sperm. The development of this distinctive adenylate cyclase in testis was studied during spermatogenesis. It was first detectable in seminiferous tubules in immature rats at about the time of the first reductive divisions and the appearance of spermatid cells. The specific activity of the enzyme increased substantially during the period of spermatogenesis when spermatids develop into mature spermatozoa, and reached maximal values in the testis of adult rats. After centrifugation of testis tissue homogenates at 105,000 X g for 60 min, the Mn-2+-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity was found in the cytosol. The enzyme remains in solution after centrifugation at 300,000 X g for 5 hr or at 180,000 X g for 24 hr and passes through a 0.22 mum Millipore filter. Electron microscopic examination showed no visible membrane fragments or vesicles in the filtered supernatant. The Mn-2+-sensitive adenylate cyclase system is also present in epidiymal sperm. However, in the sperm obtained from either the caput or the cauda of epididymis, the adenylate cyclase is membrane-associated and found in particulate fractions of sperm homogenates. It therefore appears that the Mn-2+-sensitive adenylate cyclase is initially present in the cytoplasm either unattached or loosely bound to intracellular membranes and becomes firmly attached to sperm membranes later in development. This occurs either during the process of maturation of spermatids into sperm or during the transport of the testicular sperm into the epididymis.