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Published on: March 25, 2015
Conservation of the Ca2+-permeability through the voltage sensor domain of mammalian CatSper subunit
Hiroki Arima1, Hidekazu Tsutsui1,2, Yasushi Okamura1,3
1a Department of Physiology , Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University , Suita, Osaka Japan.
Abstract:
Cation channel of Spermatozoa (CatSper) is one of the voltage-gated ion channels consisting of voltage sensor domains (VSDs) and pore-gate domains. CatSper is exclusively expressed in spermatozoa and indispensable for Ca2+ influx into cytosol. Recently, we have reported that the VSD of ascidian CatSper induces Ca2+-permeable pathways in heterologous expression systems. However, it is not known whether ion permeability through the VSD of CatSper is conserved in mammals. In the present study, electrophysiology and fluorometry in Xenopus oocytes revealed that Ca2+-permeable paths are also formed by expressing the VSD of murine CatSper. We also examined the permeability to monovalent cations other than Na+ in the VSD of ascidian CatSper.
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