Artículos de revistas
An intact acrosome is required for the chemotactic response to progesterone in mouse spermatozoa
Fecha
2017-04Registro en:
Guidobaldi, Héctor Alejandro; Hirohashi, Noritaka; Cubilla, Marisa Angélica; Buffone, Mariano Gabriel; Giojalas, Laura Cecilia; An intact acrosome is required for the chemotactic response to progesterone in mouse spermatozoa; Wiley-liss, Div John Wiley & Sons Inc; Molecular Reproduction and Development; 84; 4; 4-2017; 310-315
1040-452X
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Guidobaldi, Héctor Alejandro
Hirohashi, Noritaka
Cubilla, Marisa Angélica
Buffone, Mariano Gabriel
Giojalas, Laura Cecilia
Resumen
Mammalian sperm become fertilization-competent in the oviduct, during a process known as capacitation that involves the acquisition of the ability to exocytose the acrosome but also the chemotactic responses—both of which contribute to successful fertilization. Chemotaxis is used by spermatozoa to orient and to locate the egg; the acrosome reaction facilitates sperm binding to and fusing with the egg membrane. Mammalian spermatozoa are able to sense picomolar concentrations of progesterone, which drives chemotactic behavior. The state of the acrosome during the chemotactic response, however, is unknown. Genetically modified mouse spermatozoa were employed in a chemotaxis assay under fluorescence microscopy to evaluate their acrosome status while swimming, allowing us to elucidate the acrosome integrity of sperm responding to progesterone-induced chemotaxis. We first showed that wild-type mouse spermatozoa chemotactically respond to a gradient of progesterone, and that the genetic modifications employed do not affect the chemotactic behavior of sperm to progesterone. Next, we found that acrosome-intact, but not acrosome-reacted, spermatozoa orient and respond to picomolar concentrations of progesterone and that chemotaxis normally occurs prior to the acrosome reaction. Our results suggest that premature commitment to acrosome exocytosis leads to navigation failure, so proper control and timing of the acrosome reaction is required for fertilization success and male fertility.