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Biomedical subjects

H Merchant

Publications and source records attributed to H Merchant.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Heparin binding sites in the human spermatozoa membrane.

The existence in the human spermatozoa membrane of receptorlike functional group for heparin was studied. Incubation of whole spermatozoa with tritiated heparin induced the specific binding of 745 +/- 112 pmol of heparin per 5 x 10(7) sperm cells with an intrinsic association constant KD = 3.6 x 10(-6) M. The specificity of binding was shown by the lack of competence in the binding process of some other glycosaminoglycans used at concentrations 20 x higher than heparin. However, dextran sulfate was a very efficient competitive agent. Autoradiography experiments showed that labeling was almost completely restricted to sperm cells in the process of nuclear decondensation. This technique showed the presence of a high amount of radioactive heparin in the isolated sperm membranes even after several washings. Heparin may participate both in the final part of the capacitation process (acrosome reaction) and in the decondensation of sperm nuclei.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1981

Differential distribution of cyclic-AMP receptors in human spermatozoa.

The binding properties of cyclic-AMP to intact and fractionated in heads and tails human spermatozoa have been studied. Whole spermatozoa bound 6.8 +/- 0.8 pmol of cyclic-AMP per 10(7) cells. Binding of cyclic-AMP was selectively located in the midpiece-tail region of the spermatozoa. Thus only 18% of the binding in the whole sperm could be accounted for by the binding on the sperm heads. This distribution is similar to that previously described for the protein kinase of bovine sperm. Blocking membrane sulfhydryl groups with pCMBS induced a drastic inhibition (65%) of the cyclic-AMP binding to the sperm heads, while only moderately reducing (30%) the binding in the sperm tails

4-Chloromercuribenzenesulfonate↗
PubMed1980

Species specific decondensation of human spermatozoa nuclei by heparin.

Decondensation of human spermatozoa nuclei has been induced by exposure of intact spermatozoa to heparin, while the spermatozoa of rabbit, ram, and bull remained highly condensed under similar experimental conditions. This process occurred in the complete absence of any disulfide bond cleaving reactant. Swelling of human spermatozoa nuclei commenced about 30 min after the addition of heparin and depended on heparin concentration reaching 83% of swelled nuclei after 6 hr. of incubation with 5000 USP of heparin per ml. Addition of 10 mg/ml of trypsin soybean inhibitor did not interfere with the swelling action of heparin. Electron microscope observations of human spermatozoa nuclei treated with heparin revealed that the chromatin is organized into "hublike" nuclear bodies joined by a network of cross-linked and branched chromatin fibers ranging in thickness from 25 to 1.5 nm.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Changes in the protein conformation of human spermatozoal membranes after treatment with cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate and human follicular fluid.

Infrared spectra in the amide I and amide II regions of acrosomal membranes isolated from ejaculated human spermatozoa indicate the presence of a high proportion of the constitutive proteins in the most stable protein configuration, the antiparallel beta-conformation. Since the infrared spectra obtained with the membranes suspended in D2O or after extraction of the lipid components do not show any significant change, it can be postulated that the antiparallel pleated sheet conformation of human spermatozoal membrane proteins is independent of the hydrated state and of the lipid constitution of the membrane.

Acrosome↗