[5] A general idea of its chemical structure, subcellular localization, expression, and conservation is known.
Research suggests SPATS1 may play a role in the canonical Wnt Signaling pathway and in the first spermatogenic wave.
[7] Bioinformatic analysis suggests that the protein does not have transmembrane structure and is composed of both alpha helixes and beta sheets.
[11] Expression in the nucleus may be supported by the fact that the rat homolog of the SPATS1 gene was experimentally found to have a probable bipartite nuclear localization signal.
[12] In addition, bioinformatic tools have identified a bipartite nuclear localization signal with high probability in the human protein at amino acids 174 - 191.
[16] via binding to catalytic sub-unit PPP1CC 71 member F1 frame 139 involved in sperm - egg plasma membrane adhesion and fusion during fertilization complexes, which are required to maintain the transcriptionally repressive state of homeotic genes throughout development The expression of this protein has been found to greatly decline in adulthood, compared to expression levels measured in fetuses.
Research has indicated that it may play a role in initiation of the first spermatogenic wave as well as the first male meiotic division.
[11] Another study suggests that it acts as a negative regulator in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway.
[19] There is a high level of conservation among mammals and other close orthologs in the coding region.