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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Cytological Analysis of Spermatogenesis: Live and Fixed Preparations of Drosophila Testes
Published on: January 20, 2014
The involvement of immunoglobulin superfamily proteins in spermatogenesis and sperm-egg interaction
Kiyotata Toshimori1, Mamiko Maekawa1, Chizuru Ito1
1Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan and.
Abstract:
The immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) proteins are expressed on the plasma membrane between Sertoli cells and germ cells in the testis. IgSF proteins are specifically present at the apical Sertoli-germ cell junction, that is, ectoplasmic specialization and are involved in germ cell differentiation. Some IgSF proteins are present on the surface of germ cells and undergo further biochemical modifications during sperm maturation. These IgSF proteins undergo final modifications during capacitation and/or the acrosome reaction. The function and expression of IgSF proteins in the testis and spermatozoa, as they relate to spermatogenesis and sperm-egg interaction, are discussed. (Reprod Med Biol 2006; 5: 87-93).
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