Spermatozoa lacking TEX51 display hypofertility and defects in morphology.

ABSTRACT: Fertilization is essential for all sexually reproducing species, yet the complete molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we revisit a structure-based search of the AlphaFold human proteome to identify new members of the IST superfamily, a key family of proteins associated with fertilization. We discover that TEX51, predicted to form a 4-helix bundle, a ß-hinge, a pair of CXXC motifs and a transmembrane domain, shares structural similarities with IST superfamily proteins (IZUMO1, SPACA6, and TMEM95). Given the testis-specific expression of TEX51 and conservation across mammals, we hypothesize that TEX51 plays a role in fertilization. To investigate this, we create a Tex51-knockout (KO) mouse model that removes the complete Tex51 open reading frame and incidentally a part of the nearby l

SUBMITTER: Dupuis S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12615630 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature