Mg/ml) in PBS containing 100 mg/ml of RNAseA for 10 min at room temperature. Coverslips were mounted using Vectashield medium (Vector Laboratories, CA). Fluorescence images were taken using an upright laser scanner confocal microscope (Leica 22948146 TCS SP2, Germany) with 6100 oil immersion AKT inhibitor 2 cost objective. Sperm preparation. Human semen was obtained 
by masturbation after 2? days of abstinence. All sperm donors werehealthy and normozoospermic according to World Health Organization standards. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the CECOS Midi-Pyrenees. Informed ??consent was obtained from all donors. Samples were ejaculated into sterile containers and allowed to liquefy for 30 min at 37Cu before processing.AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank Jeannine Boyes for technical assistance and Dr Louis Bujan and Dr Roger Leandri from the Centre d’Etude et de Conservation ?des Oeufs et du Sperme humains Midi Pyrenees and the Centre de ??Resources 80-49-9 Biologiques “GERMETHEQUE” for providing spermatozoid samples.Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: FT GD. Performed the experiments: FT LM JB CM. Analyzed the data: FT LM JB CM GD. Wrote the paper: FT GD.Antibodies against G-Protein Coupled Receptors
The nucleotide 
sequences of the rapidly increasing number of fully sequenced genomes have revealed that approximately one third of all genes in any kingdom encode integral membrane proteins [1]. The lipid nature of biological membranes prevents transport of most solutes between the cytosol and the extra cellular environment and between the cytosol and the interior of organelles. Cellular homeostasis therefore relies upon integral membrane proteins allowing selective trans-membrane movement of solutes and information. The essential physiological role of membrane protein activity is visualized by the fact that approximately 60 [2] of all approved drugs are targeting a membrane protein. Despite of this, by August 2012 the number of unique membrane protein structures has only reached 355 [http:// blanco.biomol.uci.edu/Membrane_Proteins_xtal.html] which is extremely low compared to the more than 54,000 structures available through the Protein Data Bank [http:/www.rcsb.org/ pdb/home/home.do]. Only 102 of these membrane proteins are from eukaryots including 36 of human origin. Heterologously expressed protein has been the starting point for seven of the structures [3,4,5,6,7,8]. For essentially all membrane proteins theirdensity in natural tissue is so low that purification on the milligram scale required for crystallization attempts is excluded. Access to purified membrane proteins is further complicated by the observation that the expression systems that successfully delivered more than 90 of proteins used for solving the structures for water soluble proteins, have failed in producing the required densities of recombinant membrane proteins. The reason for this is probably a general failure of cells to cope with high level expression of recombinant membrane embedded proteins [9,10]. Very few examples are found in literature on heterologous expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins to a level where large-scale purification is straight forward or even possible [11,12]. Aquaporins constitute a family of physiologically very important integral membrane proteins that are found in all three kingdoms, eubacteria, archaea and eukaryotes [13]. In human thirteen members of the aquaporin family have been identified [14]. As protein channels th.Mg/ml) in PBS containing 100 mg/ml of RNAseA for 10 min at room temperature. Coverslips were mounted using Vectashield medium (Vector Laboratories, CA). Fluorescence images were taken using an upright laser scanner confocal microscope (Leica 22948146 TCS SP2, Germany) with 6100 oil immersion objective. Sperm preparation. Human semen was obtained by masturbation after 2? days of abstinence. All sperm donors werehealthy and normozoospermic according to World Health Organization standards. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the CECOS Midi-Pyrenees. Informed ??consent was obtained from all donors. Samples were ejaculated into sterile containers and allowed to liquefy for 30 min at 37Cu before processing.AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank Jeannine Boyes for technical assistance and Dr Louis Bujan and Dr Roger Leandri from the Centre d’Etude et de Conservation ?des Oeufs et du Sperme humains Midi Pyrenees and the Centre de ??Resources Biologiques “GERMETHEQUE” for providing spermatozoid samples.Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: FT GD. Performed the experiments: FT LM JB CM. Analyzed the data: FT LM JB CM GD. Wrote the paper: FT GD.Antibodies against G-Protein Coupled Receptors
The nucleotide sequences of the rapidly increasing number of fully sequenced genomes have revealed that approximately one third of all genes in any kingdom encode integral membrane proteins [1]. The lipid nature of biological membranes prevents transport of most solutes between the cytosol and the extra cellular environment and between the cytosol and the interior of organelles. Cellular homeostasis therefore relies upon integral membrane proteins allowing selective trans-membrane movement of solutes and information. The essential physiological role of membrane protein activity is visualized by the fact that approximately 60 [2] of all approved drugs are targeting a membrane protein. Despite of this, by August 2012 the number of unique membrane protein structures has only reached 355 [http:// blanco.biomol.uci.edu/Membrane_Proteins_xtal.html] which is extremely low compared to the more than 54,000 structures available through the Protein Data Bank [http:/www.rcsb.org/ pdb/home/home.do]. Only 102 of these membrane proteins are from eukaryots including 36 of human origin. Heterologously expressed protein has been the starting point for seven of the structures [3,4,5,6,7,8]. For essentially all membrane proteins theirdensity in natural tissue is so low that purification on the milligram scale required for crystallization attempts is excluded. Access to purified membrane proteins is further complicated by the observation that the expression systems that successfully delivered more than 90 of proteins used for solving the structures for water soluble proteins, have failed in producing the required densities of recombinant membrane proteins. The reason for this is probably a general failure of cells to cope with high level expression of recombinant membrane embedded proteins [9,10]. Very few examples are found in literature on heterologous expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins to a level where large-scale purification is straight forward or even possible [11,12]. Aquaporins constitute a family of physiologically very important integral membrane proteins that are found in all three kingdoms, eubacteria, archaea and eukaryotes [13]. In human thirteen members of the aquaporin family have been identified [14]. As protein channels th.
