Phosphorylation of Izumo1 and Its Role in Male Infertility

Izumo1 is a testis-specific gene product, whose function is essential for sperm-egg fusion. Throughout its lifespan, Izumo1 is posttranslationally modified, being both N-linked glycosylated on its extracellular domain and phosphorylated on the intracellular C-terminal tail. Within the caput regions of the rat epididymis, two phosphorylation events have been documented. However, as sperm pass through the epididymis, this cytoplasmic portion of Izumo1 has been shown to contain up to seven phosphorylation sites. Remarkably, in the rat, in correlation with these events, Izumo1 undergoes sub-cellular re-location, moving from the head/tail regions of the spermatozoa, to a predominantly equatorial segment location once they have reached the caudal end of the epididymis.