Mammalian Sperm Acrosomal Enzymes and the Acrosome Reaction

Zaneveld, L. J. D.; Jonge, Christopher J. De

doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-8982-9_4

Cited by 52 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Nonetheless, the belief holds sway still that this step depends on the cooperation of one or more acrosomal enzymes acting as egg coat lysins, as they do in many other groups. This expectation for eutherian mammals seemed fulfilled many years ago by observations: a) that acrosomal extracts could eventually disrupt the rabbit zona (Srivastava, Adams and Hartree, 1965), b) that such extracts always contain acrosin (Zaneveld and De Jonge, 1991) and c) that fertilization in vitro was blocked in the presence of protease inhibitors (McRorie and Williams, 1974). However, while it is hard to abandon the long-held concept that penetration of the eutherian zona is mediated by acrosomal lysins, this now has many holes.…”

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confidence: 99%

Puzzles of mammalian fertilization and beyond

Bedford¹

2008

Int. J. Dev. Biol.

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A complexity imposed on the events of conception during the evolution of eutherian mammals is reflected not only in the placenta but also in a series of gamete-related novelties that involve the design of sperm and eggs, their interactions leading to fertilization, epididymal function, and even the scrotal state. While their functional significance has been difficult to determine, I suggest on the basis of present evidence that the genesis of these novel features relates ultimately to changes in the egg associated with nidation, that they imply a new fertilization strategy, and that most are causally linked -a major first 'domino' being the formidable zona pellucida. The eutherian zona pellucida stands out by virtue of an elastic resilience and thickness which allow it to stretch around the expanding blastocyst. However, this quality of the zona together with its relative protease-insensitivity creates a physical challenge which appears to have determined the design of the sperm head, its behaviour at fertilization, and indirectly even the pattern of sperm maturation in the epididymis. In turn, that pattern appears to have evoked the development of the sperm storage function of the cauda region, with both sperm capacitation and the scrotal state as ultimate legacies of this. Coincidentally, the vulnerability of the small yolkless egg to polyspermy appears to have selected for a unique parsimonious pattern of sperm transport in the Fallopian tube, and possibly for the role of the cumulus oophorus as a sperm sequestering device. These ideas are supported generally by evidence from marsupials, as well as by the deviant patterns seen in some insectivorous mammals.

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confidence: 99%

Puzzles of mammalian fertilization and beyond

Bedford¹

2008

Int. J. Dev. Biol.

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“…I t c o n t a i n s hydrolyzing enzymes [53]. Its contents are released from fertilizing spermatozoa.…”

Section: Detrimental Effect Of Acrosome-intact Sperm Head Injectectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application Study of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection for Golden Hamster and Cattle Production

Horiuchi

2006

Journal of Reproduction and Development

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Abstract. This paper describes several technical improvements and our results in hamster intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), hamster round spermatid injection (ROSI) and bovine ICSI. The hamster is the mammalian species in which ICSI was first tried to produce fertilized oocytes. However, until recently, no live offspring following ICSI have ever been obtained. We reported the birth of live offspring following hamster ICSI. Improved points to success were 1) performing hamster ICSI in a dark room with a small incandescent lamp and manipulating both oocytes and fertilized eggs under microscope with a red light source and 2) injecting sperm heads without acrosomes. Under controlled illumination, the majority of the oocytes injected with acrosomeless sperm heads were fertilized normally, cleaved, and developed into morulae. Nine live offspring (19%) were born by transfer of hamster ICSI-derived embryos. Furthermore, we reported the birth of live offspring following hamster ROSI. About 70% of oocytes injected with round spermatids broken before injection were fertilized normally and about half of them developed to morulae and blastocysts. Three (5%) live young were born by transfer of hamster ROSI-derived embryos. On the other hand, in cattle, the main improvements were 1) injection of spermatozoa immobilized by scoring their tail just before injection into oocytes, and 2) additional ethanol activation 4 h after ICSI. About 70% of oocytes injected were activated 4 h after ICSI, and about 30% of them developed to blastocysts. Twenty-four live calves (39%) were born by non-surgical transfer of ICSI-derived embryos. Those results shows that, at present, live offspring are able to be obtained following hamster ICSI, ROSI and bovine ICSI, but further improvement is required due to higher production efficiency of offspring.

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“…Acrosin is a trypsin-like serine proteinase that is exclusively located within the mammalian sperm acrosome. 127,128 It is considered the major penetration enzyme required for zona penetration through limited proteolysis of zona proteins. Another important function is its ability to bind to the ZP.…”

Section: Acrosin Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm function and assisted reproduction technology

Henkel¹,

Maass²,

Bödeker³

et al. 2005

Reprod Med Biol

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The evaluation of different functional sperm parameters has become a tool in andrological diagnosis. These assays determine the sperm's capability to fertilize an oocyte. It also appears that sperm functions and semen parameters are interrelated and interdependent. Therefore, the question arose whether a given laboratory test or a battery of tests can predict the outcome in in vitro fertilization (IVF).One-hundred and sixty-one patients who underwent an IVF treatment were selected from a database of 4178 patients who had been examined for male infertility 3 months before or after IVF. Sperm concentration, motility, acrosin activity, acrosome reaction, sperm morphology, maternal age, number of transferred embryos, embryo score, fertilization rate and pregnancy rate were determined. In addition, logistic regression models to describe fertilization rate and pregnancy were developed. All the parameters in the models were dichotomized and intra-and interindividual variability of the parameters were assessed. Although the sperm parameters showed good correlations with IVF when correlated separately, the only essential parameter in the multivariate model was morphology. The enormous intra-and interindividual variability of the values was striking. In conclusion, our data indicate that the andrological status at the end of the respective treatment does not necessarily represent the status at the time of IVF. Despite a relatively low correlation coefficient in the logistic regression model, it appears that among the parameters tested, the most reliable parameter to predict fertilization is normal sperm morphology. (Reprod Med Biol 2005; 4: 7-30) Key words: assisted reproduction, high intra-and interindividual variability, multivariate approach, prediction of outcome of IVF, sperm functions.

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Mammalian Sperm Acrosomal Enzymes and the Acrosome Reaction

Cited by 52 publications

References 75 publications

Puzzles of mammalian fertilization and beyond

Puzzles of mammalian fertilization and beyond

Application Study of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection for Golden Hamster and Cattle Production

Sperm function and assisted reproduction technology

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