[A contribution to the serology of tularemia. (Hemagglutination, agglutination, para-agglutination and agglutinin absorption)].
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Intact freshly drawn or stored human erythrocytes, which show little agglutination by concanavalin A, become agglutinable by this lectin in the presence of adenosine. alpha-Methylglucose (10 mM) completely inhibits this agglutination. The concanavalin A agglutination shows no sensitivity to vinblastine or cytochalasin B. Resealed membranes preparaed with ATP in lysing and resealing medium give modest agglutinability, while the presence of adenosine in both the lysing and the resealing medium results in a substantial agglutinability of the resealed membranes. Mild trypsin treatment of the erythrocytes causes an enhanced sensitivity to adenosine activation of the concanavalin A agglutination, while extensive trypsin treatment produced highly agglutinable erythrocytes that shown no response to the presence of adenosine in the lectin solution. The extensively treated erythrocytes also show concanavalin A agglutination at temperatures below 37 degrees C, under conditions in which intact or moderately treated erythrocytes do not agglutinate, with or without adenosine present. Results suggest that the adenosine activation of concanavalin A agglutination of intact human erythrocytes is mediated through a metabolic conversion of adenosine to a rapidly turned over metabolite which participates directly in the activation of agglutination. The agglutinability does not appear to depend on whole cell ATP levels, but may involve a particular pool of ATP. The effect of variation of cellular metabolic state and the response of particular systems involved in lectin-mediated agglutinability to cellular metabolism seem to be worth consideration in explaining the frequently large differences in agglutinability of und in cells in different biological states, such as those encountered in normal and transformed cells.
Boar spermatozoa become agglutinated with one another at the head when their intracellular cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-signaling cascades are activated in the head. The aim of the present study is to examine viability and protein phosphorylation patterns of cAMP-dependently agglutinated boar spermatozoa. Ejaculated spermatozoa were washed and then incubated in a modified Krebs-Ringer HEPES medium containing polyvinyl alcohol (mKRH-PVA) plus 0.1 mM Sp-5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-benzimidazole-3',5'-monophosphorothioate (cBiMPS, a cell-permeable cAMP analog) at 38.5 degrees C up to 180 minutes. Aliquots of the sperm suspensions were recovered after various incubation periods and then used to examine the state of agglutination, the viability by SYBR14-PI staining and motility assay, and the state of protein phosphorylation by Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence. In the control samples incubated without cBiMPS for 180 minutes, less than 30% of the total spermatozoa were agglutinated with one another at the heads, and more than 70% of the agglutinated spermatozoa were propidium iodide (PI)-positive (dead). However, the incubation with cBiMPS rapidly increased the percentages of head-to-head agglutinated spermatozoa to approximately 60% within 30 minutes, but did not significantly change them thereafter. In the samples incubated with cBiMPS for 180 minutes, moreover, the percentages of PI-positive cells of the agglutinated spermatozoa (approximately 30%) were significantly lower than those obtained in the control samples (more than 70%). This result was supported by the observation that the percentages of motile cells of the agglutinated spermatozoa were much higher in the samples incubated with cBiMPS for 180 minutes than in the control samples incubated without cBiMPS. As revealed by Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence, cBiMPS-induced serine/threonine phosphorylation of the proteins (eg, >220 kd, 220 kd, 180 kd, 84 kd, and 54 kd) appeared mainly in the connecting and principal pieces of both agglutinated and free spermatozoa within 30 minutes, and additional phosphorylation occurred in the middle piece later than 30 minutes. Moreover, tyrosine phosphorylation of the proteins (eg, >220 kd, 190 kd, 93 kd, 59 kd, 54 kd, and 32 kd) was induced intensely in the connecting and principal pieces and moderately in the middle piece of almost one half of the agglutinated spermatozoa after incubation with cBiMPS for more than 30 minutes, but rarely in those of the free spermatozoa. These findings are consistent with the following suggestions: activation of the cAMP-signaling cascades leads to rapid (within 30 minutes) head-to-head agglutination in live spermatozoa; rapid (within 30 minutes) protein serine/threonine phosphorylation in the connecting and principal pieces of both cAMP-dependently agglutinated and free spermatozoa and subsequent (later than 30 minutes) phosphorylation in the middle piece of them; and slow (later than 30 minutes) protein tyrosine phosphorylation in the connecting, middle, and principal pieces of the cAMP-dependently agglutinated spermatozoa. Based on these suggestions, we conclude that many of cAMP-dependently agglutinated spermatozoa are live cells in which cAMP-signaling cascades leading to protein serine/threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation are activated in the whole flagellum.
The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of sperm agglutinations and their relationships with sperm quality and fertility. Semen samples of 40 boars of an AI-station were investigated. Nineteen of the 40 investigated boars showed a constantly low (< 10% agglutinated sperm), 3 an intermediate (10-20%) and 6 boars a high level (> 20%) of agglutination in raw semen. The degree of agglutination in sperm samples of 12 boars varied distinctly during the investigation period. During summer more (P < 0.05) agglutinated sperm were observed (11.0 +/- 11.6%) than during winter (6.2 +/- 7.3%). There was no association between bacterial contamination and incidence of agglutinations (P > 0.05). After dilution in extender the percentage of agglutinated sperm decreased from 6.2 +/- 7.3% to 1.1 +/- 1.4% (P < 0.0001). Twenty-four hours after dilution the percentage of progressively motile sperm was 7.4% lower (P < 0.05) in ejaculates with an initially high degree of agglutination (> 20% agglutinated sperm) compared to samples with an initially low degree of agglutinated sperm (< 10%). Plasma membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, acrosome reaction and chromatin structure were independent (P > 0.05) from the level of agglutination. Fertility data did not differ (P > 0.05) between boars with low and high numbers of agglutinated sperm in raw semen. The results show that there are individual, ejaculatory and seasonal variations in the incidence and degree of agglutination. Agglutinations have a negative effect on motility of sperm and disappear to a large extent after dilution in sperm extender. They have no negative consequences on fertility.
A reproducible quantitative assay for the lectin-mediated agglutination of human erythrocytes, depending on different rates of settling of agglutinated and nonagglutinated erythrocytes, was developed. This assay was used to study the aggregation of human erythrocytes by phytohemagglutinin-P. The aggregation of human erythrocytes by phytohemagglutinin-P was found to depend upon the metabolic state of the cells. Metabolically depleted erythrocytes agglutinated much less readily than did similar cells supplied with adenosine. This was not due to swelling and rigidity of the cells, since erythrocytes in hypotonic solution did not exhibit significantly altered phytohemagglutinin-P agglutination. Metabolically depleted erythrocytes, or erythrocytes from blood stored 8 weeks, lysed and resealed in the presence of ATP, were agglutinated by phytohemagglutinin-P to a much greater extent than control samples without ATP. The presence of Mg2+, either alone or with ATP, had little effect on the agglutinability of the resealed membranes. Low concentrations of Ca2+ (0.2 mM) had little effect on agglutinability, although high Ca2+ (5 mM) inhibited agglutinability of the resealed membranes somewhat. Both metabolically depleted erythrocytes and depleted erythrocytes, previously treated with adenosine, when treated with trypsin released similar amounts of sialic acid. The agglutinability of the trypsinized adenosine-supplemented cells increased more readily than did that of trypsinized metabolically depleted cells. The agglutination of erythrocytes was not affected by cytochalasin B (40 mug/ml). Vinblastine (0.2 mM) caused depleted erythrocytes to agglutinate similarly to adenosine-supplemented erythrocytes, but had no effect on the agglutination of adenosine-supplemented erythrocytes. It is concluded that ATP in the human erythrocyte probably participates in the modulation of phytohemagglutinin-P agglutinability. This is not a consequence of the more rigid membrane known to accompany ATP depletion in the erythrocyte, or of the effect of ATP levels on Ca2+ or Mg2+ content. It appears likely that ATP modulates human erythrocyte phytohemagglutinin-P agglutinability through interaction, direct or indirect, with a membrane-associated component, which might also be sensitivie to vinblastine.
It has previously been shown that when boar spermatozoa are incubated in a modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate (mKRB), head-to-head agglutination occurs in many cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and serum albumin on sperm agglutination and to discuss a possible mechanism for sperm agglutination. Spermatozoa were collected from four mature boars, washed and incubated in mKRB. After a 1-h incubation, a sample of each sperm suspension was smeared gently on a separate glass slide, dried and stained in a phosphate-buffered solution of Giemsa to assess the percentage of head-to-head agglutinated cells in each suspension. In the samples incubated in mKRB, approximately 50% of the spermatozoa were agglutinated with one another at the acrosome. However, the percentages of head-to-head agglutinated spermatozoa were greatly reduced by a lack of calcium chloride in mKRB, but were recovered by the addition of dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP, a cAMP analogue) in a dose-dependent manner between 1 and 1000 microM. Addition of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX, 100 and 500 microM) instead of dbcAMP also significantly increased the percentages of head-to-head agglutinated spermatozoa. Moreover, the effects of adding dbcAMP were attenuated by treatment with Rp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate triethylamine salt (0.25-1.0 mM, a cAMP antagonist) or H-89 (5 microM, a protein kinase-A inhibitor), but were enhanced by treatment with okadaic acid (500 nM) and calyculinA (500 nM) (inhibitors of protein serine/threonine phosphatase). In sperm samples incubated in mKRB containing 0.1% polyvinyl alcohol (mKRB-P) or mKRB-P lacking calcium chloride and supplemented with 1 mM dbcAMP, a lack of bovine serum albumin (BSA) resulted in a significant decrease in the percentages of head-to-head agglutinated spermatozoa. Addition of porcine serum albumin (PSA, 1-4 mg mL(-1)) or methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBC, 5-10 mg mL(-1)) instead of BSA was as effective as BSA (4 mg mL(-1)) in enhancing sperm agglutination. However, the effects of BSA (4 mg mL(-1)) or MBC (5 mg mL(-1)) were reduced by pre-mixing these reagents with cholesterol 3-sulfate (a cholesterol analogue, 5 microg mL(-1) for BSA and 375 microg mL(-1) for MBC). In addition, a protein 'anti-agglutinin' inhibiting sperm agglutination, was extracted from spermatozoa incubated with serum albumin or MBC and detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting techniques. The obtained Western blots revealed that sperm-bound anti-agglutinin was detected less in the samples incubated with either BSA (4 mg mL(-1)) or MBC (5-10 mg mL(-1)), compared with control samples. Moreover, pre-mixing MBC (5 mg mL(-1)) with cholesterol 3-sulfate (375 microg mL(-1)) reduced this reagent's effects on the loss of sperm-bound anti-agglutinin. Additionally, the assay of sperm agglutination and a chlortetracycline staining assay revealed that the percentages of head-to-head agglutinated spermatozoa were positively correlated with those of spermatozoa classified into B pattern (capacitated spermatozoa). These results are consistent with the following suggestions: (i) an adenylyl cyclase-cAMP-protein kinase system mediates a signalling pathway leading to head-to-head agglutination; and (ii) loss of anti-agglutinin from the spermatozoa may be modulated by changes in the plasma membrane induced by actions of serum albumin or MBC contained in a medium.