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-Structure paper
Title | A lumenal interrupted helix in human sperm tail microtubules. |
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Journal, issue, pages | Sci Rep, Vol. 8, Issue 1, Page 2727, Year 2018 |
Publish date | Feb 9, 2018 |
Authors | Davide Zabeo / John M Heumann / Cindi L Schwartz / Azusa Suzuki-Shinjo / Garry Morgan / Per O Widlund / Johanna L Höög / |
PubMed Abstract | Eukaryotic flagella are complex cellular extensions involved in many human diseases gathered under the term ciliopathies. Currently, detailed insights on flagellar structure come mostly from studies ...Eukaryotic flagella are complex cellular extensions involved in many human diseases gathered under the term ciliopathies. Currently, detailed insights on flagellar structure come mostly from studies on protists. Here, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was performed on intact human spermatozoon tails and showed a variable number of microtubules in the singlet region (inside the end-piece). Inside the microtubule plus end, a novel left-handed interrupted helix which extends several micrometers was discovered. This structure was named Tail Axoneme Intra-Lumenal Spiral (TAILS) and binds directly to 11 protofilaments on the internal microtubule wall, in a coaxial fashion with the surrounding microtubule lattice. It leaves a gap over the microtubule seam, which was directly visualized in both singlet and doublet microtubules. We speculate that TAILS may stabilize microtubules, enable rapid swimming or play a role in controlling the swimming direction of spermatozoa. |
External links | Sci Rep / PubMed:29426884 / PubMed Central |
Methods | EM (tomography) / EM (subtomogram averaging) |
Resolution | 40.0 Å |
Structure data | EMDB-14734: Tomogram of human sperm singlet microtubules EMDB-15450: TAILS structure in human sperm tip singlet microtubules |
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