Sperm surface protein Sp17 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SPA17gene.[5][6]
This gene encodes a protein present at the cell surface. Studies in rabbits suggest that in sperm the protein is involved in fertilization by binding to the zona pellucida of the oocyte. Other studies in rabbits suggest that it is also involved in additional cell-cell adhesion functions such as immune cell migration and metastasis.[6]
Richardson RT, Yamasaki N, O'Rand MG (1994). "Sequence of a rabbit sperm zona pellucida binding protein and localization during the acrosome reaction". Dev. Biol. 165 (2): 688–701. doi:10.1006/dbio.1994.1285. PMID7525387.
Fujita A, Nakamura K, Kato T, et al. (2000). "Ropporin, a sperm-specific binding protein of rhophilin, that is localized in the fibrous sheath of sperm flagella". J. Cell Sci. 113 (1): 103–12. PMID10591629.
De Jong A, Buchli R, Robbins D (2003). "Characterization of sperm protein 17 in human somatic and neoplastic tissue". Cancer Lett. 186 (2): 201–9. doi:10.1016/S0304-3835(02)00350-6. PMID12213290.
Buchli R, De Jong A, Robbins DL (2002). "Genomic organization of an intron-containing sperm protein 17 gene (Sp17-1) and an intronless pseudogene (Sp17-2) in humans: a new model". Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1578 (1–3): 29–42. doi:10.1016/S0167-4781(02)00478-5. PMID12393185.
Chiriva-Internati M, Wang Z, Pochopien S, et al. (2004). "Identification of a sperm protein 17 CTL epitope restricted by HLA-A1". Int. J. Cancer. 107 (5): 863–5. doi:10.1002/ijc.11486. PMID14566839.
Straughn JM, Shaw DR, Guerrero A, et al. (2004). "Expression of sperm protein 17 (Sp17) in ovarian cancer". Int. J. Cancer. 108 (6): 805–11. doi:10.1002/ijc.11617. PMID14712480.
Gupta G, Sharma R, Chattopadhyay TK, et al. (2007). "Clinical significance of sperm protein 17 expression and immunogenicity in esophageal cancer". Int. J. Cancer. 120 (8): 1739–47. doi:10.1002/ijc.22463. PMID17230514.