Hall Susan H, Yenugu Suresh, Radhakrishnan Yashwanth, Avellar Maria Christina W, Petrusz Peter, French Frank S
Laboratories for Reproductive Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA.
Asian J Androl. 2007 Jul;9(4):453-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7262.2007.00298.x.
The epididymal beta-defensins have evolved by repeated gene duplication and divergence to encode a family of proteins that provide direct protection against pathogens and also support the male reproductive tract in its primary function. Male tract defensins also facilitate recovery from pathogen attack. The beta-defensins possess ancient conserved sequence and structural features widespread in multi-cellular organisms, suggesting fundamental roles in species survival. Primate SPAG11, the functional fusion of two ancestrally independent beta-defensin genes, produces a large family of alternatively spliced transcripts that are expressed according to tissue-specific and species-specific constraints. The complexity of SPAG11 varies in different branches of mammalian evolution. Interactions of human SPAG11D with host proteins indicate involvement in multiple signaling pathways.
附睾β-防御素通过基因重复和分化进化而来，编码一类蛋白质，这些蛋白质既能直接抵御病原体，又能支持雄性生殖道的主要功能。雄性生殖道防御素还有助于从病原体攻击中恢复。β-防御素具有在多细胞生物中广泛存在的古老保守序列和结构特征，表明其在物种生存中具有重要作用。灵长类动物的SPAG11是由两个祖先独立的β-防御素基因功能性融合而成，产生了一大类可变剪接转录本，这些转录本根据组织特异性和物种特异性限制进行表达。SPAG11的复杂性在哺乳动物进化的不同分支中有所不同。人类SPAG11D与宿主蛋白的相互作用表明其参与多种信号通路。
