Description:

Jean Ju Chung, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Cellular & Molecular Physiology
Yale School of Medicine

Abstract:
To achieve fertilization, sperm must have properly functioning Ca2+ signaling. Ca2+ influx into the flagellum is required for sperm to hyperactivate, an asymmetric flagellar movement necessary for mammalian sperm navigation and egg penetration. Varying pH of luminal fluid along the female reproductive tract is a physiological cue that modulates the sperm motility. CatSper is a sperm-specific, pH-sensitive calcium channel essential for hyperactivated motility and male fertility. Multi-subunit CatSper channel complexes organize linear Ca2+ signaling nanodomains along the sperm tail. Here we report a pH-dependent calcium sensor that enables modulation of CatSper channel and the sperm motility in response to changing conditions along the female reproductive tract.