NUP62: the target of an anti-sperm auto-monoclonal antibody during testicular development

Ts4, an autosperm-monoclonal antibody (mAb), reacts with a specific oligosaccharide (OS) of glycoproteins containing bisecting N-acetylglucosamine residues. Ts4 reactivity was observed against epididymal spermatozoa, testicular germ cells, and the early embryo, but not against major organs in adult mice. In mature testis, Ts4 exhibits immunoreactivity with a germ cell-specific glycoprotein, TEX101, whereas the mAb immunoreacts with alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase in the acrosomal region of cauda epididymal spermatozoa. Thus, Ts4 seems to react against different molecules throughout spermiogenesis via binding to its OS epitope. Since the Ts4-epitope OS is observed only in reproduction-related regions, the Ts4-reactive OS may play a role in the reproductive process. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of the Ts4-reactive molecule(s) during testicular development. Ts4 reactivity was observed in testes from the prenatal period; however, its distribution changed according to the stage of maturation and was identical to that of the adult testes after 29-day-postpartum (dpp). Ts4 immunoreactivity was detected against a protein with 63 kDa in testis from 1 to 29 dpp. In contrast, Ts4 showed reactivity against some other glycoproteins after 29 dpp, including TEX101 at the 5-week-old stage and onward. To identify the Ts4-reactive 63 kDa molecule, we identified NUP62 as the target of Ts4 in 22 dpp testis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Because NUP62 has been known to play active roles in a variety of cellular processes including mitosis and cell migration, the bisecting GlcNAc recognized by Ts4 on NUP62 may play a role in regulating the early development of germ cells in male gonadal organs.