Identification of proteins cross-reactive to phosphotyrosine antibodies and of a tyrosine kinase activity in boar spermatozoa

We used two different anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies to identify phosphotyrosine-containing proteins in a germ cell, the boar spermatozoon. Ejaculated spermatozoa presented three major polypeptides, of Mr 43,000, 40,000 and 36,000, respectively, that were immunorecognized on Western blots. These proteins were selectively enriched in the Triton X-100-soluble fraction and were released neither after an A23187-induced acrosome reaction nor after sperm homogenization. These findings suggest the presence of the three proteins in plasma membrane regions not involved in the acrosomal vesiculation. When epididymal boar spermatozoa were investigated, Western blot analysis of the detergent-soluble fractions from caput sperm did not reveal any detectable 43,000, 40,000 and 36,000 Mr proteins cross-reactive with phosphotyrosine antibodies, whereas the detergent-soluble fractions from cauda sperm yielded very strong immunoreactive signals. Labelling of freshly ejaculated spermatozoa with [32P]orthophosphate yielded a wide range of labelled phosphoproteins, but we failed to identify specific tyrosine phosphorylation under the experimental conditions employed. Tyrosine phosphorylation occurred when specific synthetic polymers of tyrosine, commonly used for studying tyrosine protein kinases, were assayed as substrates against both the Triton-soluble and Triton-insoluble sperm fractions. This is the first immunological and biochemical report on the presence of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins and protein kinase activities that phosphorylate tyrosine residues in a mammalian mature spermatozoon.