Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase, Spermatogenic (GAPDHS)

GAPDHS encodes a protein belonging to the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase family of enzymes that play an important role in carbohydrate metabolism. Like its somatic cell counterpart, this sperm-specific enzyme functions in a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent manner to remove hydrogen and add phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to form 1,3-diphosphoglycerate. During spermiogenesis, this enzyme may play an important role in regulating the switch between different energy-producing pathways, and it is required for sperm motility and male fertility.

GAPDS shares 83% amino acid identity with mouse Gapds and 68% identity with GAPD. Northern blot analysis of several tissues detected a 1.5-kb GAPDS transcript only in testis.