Ann O. Sperry, Ph.D.

Ann O. Sperry, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

B.S., Texas A&M University
Ph.D., Rice University
Research Fellow, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

office: Brody 7N-59A
telephone: 252-744-2841
e-mail: sperrya@ecu.edu
website: The Sperry Lab

Research
Studies in our laboratory are focused on the mammalian cytoskeleton. In particular, we would like to understand how different molecular motor proteins participate in the cytoskeletal changes of development. We have chosen mammalian spermatogenesis as our experimental system because of the dramatic rearrangements of the germ cell cytoskeleton that occur during this developmental program. Our work focuses on the kinesin class of molecular motors that move cargoes such as vesicles, proteins, and RNA along microtubule tracks within cells. Currently, we are studying a subgroup of kinesins that includes several isoforms with different roles in intracellular motility. One isoform, KIFC5A, is involved in formation of the microtubule spindle in cell division. The second isoform called KIFC1 plays a role in transformation of the spermatid nucleus during sperm maturation. Together these motor proteins participate in remodeling of the germ cell cytoskeleton that is crucial to production of viable sperm. We would like to understand the different roles and modes of regulation of these interesting proteins. An improved understanding of the changes in motor proteins during normal development may reveal clues regarding abnormal cell growth and development due to alterations of these proteins.

Selected Publications
Sperry, A.O. and S.M. Berget. 1986. In vitro cleavage of the simian virus 40 early polyadenylation site adjacent to a required downstream TG sequence. Mol. Cell Biol. 6: 4734-4741.

Sperry, A.O., V.C. Blasquez, and W.T. Garrard. 1989. Dysfunction of chromosomal loop attachment sites: illegitimate recombination linked to matrix association regions and topoisomerase II. P.N.A.S. USA. 86: 5497-5501.

Fishel, B.R., A.O. Sperry, and W.T. Garrard. 1993. Yeast calmodulin and a conserved nuclear protein participate in the in vivo binding of a matrix association region. P.N.A.S. USA 90: 5623-5627.

Sperry, A.O., and L.-P.Zhao. 1996. Kinesin-related proteins in the mammalian testes: candidate motors for meiosis and morphogenesis. Mol. Biol. Cell 7: 289-305.

Navolanic, P.M. and A.O. Sperry. 2000. Identification of isoforms of a mitotic motor in mammalian spermatogenesis. Biol. Reprod. 62: 1360-1369.

Zou, Y., C.F. Millette, and A.O. Sperry. 2002. KRP3A and KRP3B: candidate motors for spermatid maturation in the seminiferous epithelium. Biol. Reprod. 66: 843-855.

Yang, W.-X., and A.O. Sperry. 2003. C-Terminal kinesin motor KIFC1 participates in acrosome biogenesis and vesicle transport. Biol. Reprod. 69:1719-1729.

Zhang, Y. and A.O. Sperry. 2004. Comparative analysis of two C-terminal kinesin motor proteins: KIFC1 and KIFC5A. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 58:213-230.

Yang, W.-X., H. Jefferson, and A.O. Sperry. 2006. The molecular motor KIFC1 associates with a complex containing nucleoporin NUP62 that is regulated during development and by the small GTPase RAN. Biol. Reprod. 74: 684-690.

Click PubMed Publications for further listings.

Current Funding
"The KIFC1 Molecular Motor in Spermiogenesis Bridging Grant"; Ann O. Sperry, Principal Investigator; Division of Research and Graduate Studies, East Carolina University; 7/01/06 - 6/30/07.

Staff and Students
Location 7N-59 & 90

Name	Title	Phone	E-mail
Kristjan Thompson	Graduate Student	744-2831	KLT0508@ecu.edu
Rong Wang	Research Technician	744-2861	wangr@ecu.edu