New cell death pathway involved in sperm development

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Light and fertile. To achieve their streamlined shape developing Drosophila sperm use cell death proteins within the cullin-3 ubiquitin ligase complex to target and degrade unwanted cellular bulk (green).
Light and fertile. To achieve their streamlined shape, developing Drosophila sperm use cell death proteins within the cullin-3 ubiquitin ligase complex to target and degrade unwanted cellular bulk (green).

Heavy and bulky sperm would not be good swimmers. To trim down, sperm rely on cell death proteins called caspases, which facilitate the removal of unwanted cellular material and radically remodel these cells into their sleek, light shape. New research from scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefeller University has now uncovered a new pathway that regulates these killer proteins, yielding new knowledge about caspase function as well as insights into the causes of human infertility. The findings are reported this week in Public Library of Science Biology.


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