Regulation mechanisms and implications of sperm membrane hyperpolarization

Publication date: Available online 22 April 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Carla Ritagliati, Carolina Baro Graf, Cintia Stival, Dario KrapfAbstractMammalian sperm are unable to fertilize the egg immediately after ejaculation. In order to gain fertilization competence, they need to undergo a series of biochemical and physiological modifications inside the female reproductive tract, known as capacitation. Capacitation correlates with two essential events for fertilization: hyperactivation, an asymmetric and vigorous flagellar motility, and the ability to undergo the acrosome reaction. At a molecular level, capacitation is associated to: phosphorylation cascades, modification of membrane lipids, alkalinization of the intracellular pH, increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and hyperpolarization of the sperm plasma membrane potential. Hyperpolarization is a crucial event in capacitation since it primes the sperm to undergo the exocytosis of the acrosome content, essential to achieve fertilization of the oocyte.

Source: Mechanisms of Development - July 6, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research