ADAM family members play important roles in various physiological and pathological processes, for example, fertilization, embryogenesis, neurogenesis, and development of asthma and arthritis (Primakoff and Myles, 2000. Trends Genet 16: 83-87; Edwards et al., 2008. Mol Aspects Med 29: 258-289). We previously reported that testase 1 (ADAM 24) is the first identified metalloprotease present on the surface of mature sperm. To investigate a potential role of testase 1 in fertilization, we generated testase 1 deficient mice. Testase 1 null male mice showed reduced fertility, producing only half the number of offspring when compared to wild-type littermates. In a standard in vitro fertilization assay, we found that sperm lacking testase 1 gave rise to polyspermic fertilization, a phenotypic featu...
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