Characterising novel signalling molecules important for sperm fertilization

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The molecules in mammalian sperm must reorganise just prior to meeting the egg, in order to fertilise. This reorganisation is started by signals that the sperm receives which cause the sperm to change its membrane and change its internal reactions. The exact nature of the signal(s) is unknown, making it difficult to either protect fertilising ability in males with poor fertility or to preserve sperm for artificial insemination. One molecule called Na/K-ATPase is well known as an enzyme that moves ions across the membranes of many cell types, including sperm. We have recently proven that Na/K-ATPase is a signalling molecule like a hormone receptor, and its hormone has recently been identified, in muscle cells, as the steroid ouabain. We propose to determine how ouabain's signal is received and acted upon by sperm; what its role is in membrane changes that preceded fertilisation, and how the molecules surrounding it in its immediate membrane environment can be manipulated to better protect and promote fertilisation.