Guinea Pig Testicular Proacrosin-Acrosin System: Further Characterization of the Active Enzyme1

Proacrosin conversion inhibitor. Purification and initial characterization of a boar sperm protein which prevents the conversion of proacrosin into acrosin.

A proacrosin conversion inhibitor present in boar spermatozoa has been purified and initially characterized. Purification methods included sequential acid extractions of washed spermatozoa at pH 4.0, pH 3.5, and pH 2.5 followed by successive gel filtrations of the pH 2.5 sperm extract supernatant over Sephadex G-75 and G-50. The resulting 8.8-fold purified materials were judged to be homogeneou...

Expression and tyrosine phosphorylation of sp32 regulate the activation of the boar proacrosin/acrosin system.

The current study investigated the relationship between the level of expression and tyrosine phosphorylation of the sperm protein 32 (sp32) and the activation of the boar proacrosin/acrosin system. The acrosomal membrane proteins of boar sperm for use in different treatment experiments (i.e., fresh sperm, freezing and thawing, capacitation, and acrosome reaction) were separated, stained by Coom...

The histochemical localization of acrosin in guinea-pig sperm after the acrosome reaction.

The protease acrosin is widely considered to be an essential component of a zona lysin which enables sperm to penetrate the zona pellucida of the egg. Sperm form a characteristic penetration slit little wider than the sperm head itself and this has long suggested that any zona lysin is attached to the sperm surface after an acrosome reaction. This paper provides the first ultrastructural eviden...

Karyotype of Hairless Guinea pig

Chromosomal patterns of experimental animals are useful tools for cytogenetics research and animal breeding. Chromosome investigations of the hairless guinea pig are rare, therefore, karyotype of hairless guinea pigs (twelve male and female) was studied using metaphase spreads of bone marrows and G banding techniques. The chromosomes diploid number was 2n= 64 and polymorphism of three type chro...

Some observations on the feeding of the guinea pig