{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T23:14:49Z","timestamp":1787008489364,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,28]],"date-time":"2025-03-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743120000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,13]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Spermatozoa acquire fertilizing competence during epididymal transit through proteolytic, chaperone-mediated, and post-translational modifications. Ovochymase 2, an epididymis-specific trypsin-like serine protease, has emerged as a central regulator of this maturation process. Here, we integrate targeted gene disruption, comprehensive proteomic profiling, and affinity-based proteome enrichment to delineate how Ovochymase 2 influences sperm functionality. Deletion of Ovochymase 2 disrupts the proteome of epididymal sperm, resulting in diminished levels of core fertility-related factors\u2014including a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 3, \u03b2-defensins, and protease\u2013inhibitor complexes\u2014while inducing compensatory upregulation of alternate proteases and chaperones. Interaction assays confirm direct or indirect associations between Ovochymase 2 and sperm surface proteins critical for fertilization, highlighting its essential protease domain and the transient, and finely regulated nature of its substrates. Collectively, these findings position Ovochymase 2 as an orchestrator of sperm surface remodeling, with broad implications for fertility diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. By revealing a multifaceted network of Ovochymase 2-dependent pathways, this study provides a mechanistic framework for developing innovative strategies to counter idiopathic male infertility and to enhance male contraceptive design.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/biolre\/ioaf069","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,29]],"date-time":"2025-03-29T18:43:44Z","timestamp":1743273824000},"page":"127-140","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Ovochymase 2 is a key regulatory factor modulating proteolytic pathways and sperm maturation in the mammalian epididymis"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"113","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4528-3425","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katarzyna","family":"Kent","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine , Department of Pathology & Immunology, Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2256-278X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kaori","family":"Nozawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine , Department of Pathology & Immunology, Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2815-3645","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antrix","family":"Jain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mass Spectrometry Proteomics Core, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2953-6485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Malovannaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mass Spectrometry Proteomics Core, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7761-2660","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas X","family":"Garcia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine , Department of Pathology & Immunology, Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1445-8632","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin M","family":"Matzuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine , Department of Pathology & Immunology, Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, TX ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025071504315486800_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"574","DOI":"10.1093\/humupd\/dmw015","article-title":"The human epididymis: its function in sperm 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