The t-complex is defined as naturally occurring variants of the proximal third of mouse chromosome 17 and has been studied by mouse geneticists for decades. This region contains many genes involved in processes from embryogenesis to sperm function. One such gene, t-complex protein 11 (Tcp11), was identified as a testis-specific gene whose protein is present in elongating spermatids. Later work on Tcp11 localized TCP11 to the sperm surface and acrosome cap and implicated TCP11 as important for sperm capacitation through the cyclic AMP/Protein Kinase A pathway. Here, we show that TCP11 is cytoplasmically localized to elongating spermatids and absent from sperm. In the absence of Tcp11, male mice have severely reduced fertility due to a significant decrease in progressively motile sperm; however, Tcp11-null sperm continues to undergo tyrosine phosphorylation, a hallmark of capacitation. Interestingly, null sperm displays reduced PKA activity, consistent with previous reports. Our work demonstrates that TCP11 functions in elongated spermatids to confer proper motility in mature sperm.

中文翻译：

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小鼠 t 复合蛋白 11 对精子的渐进性运动很重要†

t 复合体被定义为小鼠 17 号染色体近端三分之一的天然变异体，小鼠遗传学家已经研究了几十年。该区域包含许多涉及从胚胎发生到精子功能过程的基因。一种这样的基因，t 复合蛋白 11 (Tcp11)，被鉴定为睾丸特异性基因，其蛋白质存在于伸长的精子细胞中。后来对 Tcp11 的研究将 TCP11 定位到精子表面和顶体帽，并暗示 TCP11 通过环 AMP/蛋白激酶 A 途径对精子获能很重要。在这里，我们显示 TCP11 在细胞质上定位于伸长的精子细胞，并且不存在于精子中。在没有 Tcp11 的情况下，雄性小鼠的生育能力会因逐渐活动的精子显着减少而严重降低；然而，Tcp11-null 精子继续经历酪氨酸磷酸化，这是获能的标志。有趣的是，空精子显示出 PKA 活性降低，这与之前的报告一致。我们的工作表明 TCP11 在拉长的精子细胞中发挥作用，赋予成熟精子适当的运动能力。