• Plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase 4 is required for sperm motility and male fertility

      Schuh, Kai; Cartwright, Elizabeth J.; Jankevics, Eriks; Bundschu, Karin; Liebermann, Jürgen; Williams, Judith C.; Armesilla, Angel; Emerson, Michael; Oceandy, Delvac; Knobeloch, Klaus-Peter; et al. (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2004-07-31)
      Calcium and Ca(2+)-dependent signals play a crucial role in sperm motility and mammalian fertilization, but the molecules and mechanisms underlying these Ca(2+)-dependent pathways are incompletely understood. Here we show that homozygous male mice with a targeted gene deletion of isoform 4 of the plasma membrane calcium/calmodulin-dependent calcium ATPase (PMCA), which is highly enriched in the sperm tail, are infertile due to severely impaired sperm motility. Furthermore, the PMCA inhibitor 5-(and-6)-carboxyeosin diacetate succinimidyl ester reduced sperm motility in wild-type animals, thus mimicking the effects of PMCA4 deficiency on sperm motility and supporting the hypothesis of a pivotal role of the PMCA4 on the regulation of sperm function and intracellular Ca(2+) levels.