Isolation and characterization of heparin- and phosphorylcholine-binding proteins of boar and stallion seminal plasma. Primary structure of porcine pB1

FEBS Lett. 1997 Apr 28;407(2):201-6. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)00344-x.

Abstract

In the bovine, seminal plasma heparin-binding proteins bind to sperm lipids containing the phosphorylcholine group and mediate the capacitating effects of heparin-like glycosaminoglycans during sperm residence in the female genital tract. We report the characterization of heparin- and phosphorylcholine-binding proteins of stallion and boar seminal plasma. Horse seminal plasma proteins HSP-1 and HSP-2, and boar protein pB1, belong to the same family as the bull heparin- and phosphorylcholine-binding proteins BSP-A1/2, BSP-A3, and BSP-30K. We have determined the amino acid sequence and posttranslational modifications of boar glycoprotein pB1. It contains 105 amino acids arranged into a mosaic structure consisting of a N-terminal 18-residue O-glycosylated polypeptide followed by two tandemly organized 40-45-residue fibronectin type II domains. pB1 displays 60-65% amino acid sequence similarity with its equine and bovine homologues. However, in their respective seminal plasmas, the BSP and the HSP proteins associate into 90-150-kDa oligomeric complexes, whereas pB1 forms a 35-40-kDa complex with spermadhesin AQN-1. In addition, pB1 appears to be identical to the recently described leukocyte adhesion regulator of porcine seminal fluid pAIF-1. Our results tie in with the hypothesis that homologous proteins from different mammalian species may display distinct biological activities, which may be related to species-specific aspects of sperm physiology.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Carrier Proteins / chemistry*
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry*
  • Glycosylation
  • Heparin / metabolism*
  • Horses
  • Male
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptide Mapping
  • Phosphorylcholine / metabolism*
  • Semen / chemistry*
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins*
  • Sequence Analysis
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Species Specificity
  • Swine

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • Glycoproteins
  • HSP-1 protein, Equus caballus
  • HSP-2 protein, Equus caballus
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins
  • pAIF-1 protein, Sus scrofa
  • Phosphorylcholine
  • Heparin

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AF047026