[Physiochemical studies on sperm capacitation. II. Changes in respiration, anaerobic fructolysis, motility and acrosome reaction accompanying sperm maturation].
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The presence of glycogen-phosphorylase (A and B forms), glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1, 6-diphosphatase in bonnet monkey spermatozoa was determined. The process of glycolysis gradually decreased and the process of reversal of glycolysis steadily increased in monkey spermatozoa as they move from testis to caput to corpus to cauda to vas deferens and finally in ejaculate. Hence in bonnet monkeys, the functional maturity of spermatozoa and the shift in glycolysis are closely related.
The spermatozoa from the shrimp Palaemon serratus have been studied with respect to their morphological and biochemical characters. At the ultrastructural level the acrosomal vesicle of the nail-shaped spermatozoon displays a periodically striated bundle. This appearance seems to be characteristic for the Palaemonidae. The biochemical parameters of the chromatin, extracted from the spermatozoa, have been compared with those obtained from the testes and the hepatopancreas. The basic proteins of testes and sperm have been characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Protamines appear to be absent in the sperm of P. serratus. On the contrary, histones with a somatic character remain present. Moreover, supplementary histone fractions have been identified. These proteins have been further studied after purification on Biogel P-100. Their amino acid composition shows similarities to that of the H2A and H2B histone and has a molecular weight of 15,500 +/- 300.
To evaluate the effectiveness of surgical correction of varicocele in restoring the function of the varicocelized testicle, experimental varicoceles were created in 16 male rabbits by partly ligating the left lumbotesticular trunk. Five control rabbits received a sham operation (group A). Two months later, eight of the varicocelized rabbits underwent surgical repair by ligation and cutting of the dilated left testicular vein (group B). The remaining eight varicocelized animals did not receive any additional treatment (group C). Five months after the initial operation, group C animals had a significantly lower sperm concentration, sperm motility, bilateral testicular androgen-binding protein activity, bilateral testicular vein testosterone concentration, bilateral testicular versus intraabdominal temperature difference, and fertility when compared with groups A and B. These findings suggested that the surgical repair of an experimental varicocele in the rabbit can significantly improve the parameters indicating the harmful effects of the varicocele on the testicles.
Mammalian spermatozoa acquire motility and fertilizing capacity during their transit through the epididymis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine with potent motogenic capacities that has been identified in different organs, including the mammalian male genital tract. In mice, HGF is present in the testis and, in large amounts, in the distal part of the epididymis. In prepuberal rats, we have demonstrated that HGF is synthesized by the peritubular myoid cells and in men, HGF is present in significant quantities in seminal plasma. It has been suggested that in mice, HGF has a role in initiating sperm motility, whereas in men, no significant correlations between HGF concentration and sperm motility have been found. In the present paper we report that in rats, HGF receptor, c-met, is expressed in testicular and epididymal spermatozoa. Through immunocytochemistry, we have found that c-met is exclusively localized on the head in testicular sperm. A different localization of c-met has been found in sperm isolated from caput and cauda epididymidis. Cells isolated from epididymal caput show a c-met localization exclusively restricted to the head in most cells. In a minority of caput epididymis spermatozoa the receptor is localized both in the cell head and along the flagellum. Spermatozoa isolated from the epididymal cauda were quite homogeneous, showing the receptor localized along the entire cell surface. We also report that HGF is synthesized and secreted by the rat epididymis as indicated by the scatter effect of epididymal cell homogenate and culture medium on MDCK cells. To clarify whether HGF is involved in the acquisition of sperm motility in the epididymis, its maintenance, or both, spermatozoa isolated from caput epididymidis have been cultured in medium alone or supplemented with HGF. The results obtained indicated that HGF has a positive effect on the maintenance of sperm motility which, in the absence of HGF, significantly decreases during the first hour of culture, whereas it is maintained for at least 3 hours when HGF is present in the culture medium. We also report that HGF does not influence spermatozoa viability as indicated by the cytometrical analysis of propidium iodide-labeled sperm; an equal number of dead cells appeared in control and in HGF-treated preparations. In conclusion, our data strongly support the hypothesis that HGF positively influences sperm motility maintenance during sperm transit through the epididymis, indicating that c-met receptor and its ligand, HGF, have a role in male fertility.
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Previous studies on flagellar growth in round spermatids from Cynops and Xenopus in vitro have shown that the period and rate of flagellar growth are greater in Cynops than in Xenopus. The present study shows, however, that during the initial phase of flagellar growth (for the first 12 h following the second meiotic division), the growth rate is very similar in both Cynops and Xenopus (0.5-0.6 microns/h at 22 degrees C). The difference in the growth rate between Cynops and Xenopus was observed beyond 12 h following the second meiotic division. When round spermatids in both species were inoculated with 10 microM cycloheximide, flagella grew at the same rate as in the absence of cycloheximide for the first 12 h following the second meiotic division. Beyond 12 h, however, cycloheximide suppressed flagellar growth in round spermatids in both species. These results indicate that the initial flagellar growth in round spermatids is provided for by flagellar protein pools which were present just after the second meiotic division; the growth beyond 12 h in round spermatids is contributed by newly synthesized flagellar proteins.
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