Assessment of Human Sperm Function After Recovery from the Female Reproductive Tract

Gould, John E.; Overstreet, James W.; Hanson, Fredrick W.

doi:10.1095/biolreprod31.5.888

Cited by 89 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Despite all the discussion, it still remains to be elucidated which are the main energy sources for ejaculated sperm motility under physiological conditions (i.e. in the female reproductive tract, where sperm can survive for up to 5 days) (57).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Sperm Tail Proteome Suggests New Endogenous Metabolic Pathways

Amaral

Castillo

Estanyol

et al. 2013

Molecular & Cellular Proteomics

213

177

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Proteomic studies are contributing greatly to our understanding of the sperm cell, and more detailed descriptions are expected to clarify additional cellular and molecular sperm attributes. The aim of this study was to characterize the subcellular proteome of the human sperm tail and, hopefully, identify less concentrated proteins (not found in whole cell proteome studies). Specifically, we were interested in characterizing the sperm metabolic proteome and gaining new insights into the sperm metabolism issue. Sperm were isolated from normozoospermic semen samples and depleted of any contaminating leukocytes. Tail fractions were obtained by means of sonication followed by sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation, and their purity was confirmed via various techniques. Liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry of isolated sperm tail peptides resulted in the identification of 1049 proteins, more than half of which had not been previously described in human sperm. The categorization of proteins according to their function revealed two main groups: proteins related to metabolism and energy production (26%), and proteins related to sperm tail structure and motility (11%). Interestingly, a great proportion of the metabolic proteome (24%) comprised enzymes involved in lipid metabolism, including enzymes for mitochondrial beta-oxidation. Unexpectedly, we also identified various peroxisomal proteins, some of which are known to be involved in the oxidation of very long chain fatty acids. Analysis of our data using Reactome suggests that both mitochondrial and peroxisomal pathways might indeed be active in sperm, and that the use of fatty acids as fuel might be more preponderant than previously thought. In addition, incubation of sperm with the fatty acid oxidation inhibitor etomoxir resulted in a significant decrease in sperm motility. Contradicting a common concept in the literature, we suggest that the male gamete might have the capacity to obtain energy from endogenous pools, and thus to adapt to putative exogenous fluctuations. Molecular &

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Sperm Tail Proteome Suggests New Endogenous Metabolic Pathways

Amaral

Castillo

Estanyol

et al. 2013

Molecular & Cellular Proteomics

213

177

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show abstract

“…The migration of human sperm through a column of human cervical mucus in vitro appears to be as effective as centrifugation in washing sperm for capacitation Gould et al, 19841. Human spermatozoa recovered from mucus after insemination appear to have achieved capacitation in vivo [Gould et al, 1984[Gould et al, ,1985 Lambert et al., 19851.The mechanical resistance of mucus to sperm depends on the structuralmechanical properties of the microstructure, the viscosity of the mucus plasma, and the size and shape of the sperm head and flagellum. There is variation among species in these biological factors, as evidenced by comparison of the human and bovine.…”

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Factors regulating mammalian sperm migration through the female reproductive tract and oocyte vestments

1989

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Mechanisms of mammalian sperm migration through the female reproductive tract and ovum vestments are described. The perspective is biophysical as well as biochemical and morphological, and the focus is upon the role of sperm motility in these processes. Sperm forward progression is characterized as an interactive process between the the cell and its environment, and the mediation of flagellar bend propagation by the physical properties of its surroundings is described. These properties, together with flagellar beat kinematics, sperm morphology, and surface properties, determine the magnitude of the forces generated by sperm and their consequent rate of progression. Sperm interactions with the cervical mucus, the cumulus oophorus, and the zona pellucida are described. The poorly understood affinity of the sperm surface for the macromolecules of the mucus, cumulus, and zona is stressed, as is the viscoelastic structural mechanical resistance of these biopolymers to sperm motion. The kinematics and consequences of hyperactivated sperm motion are presented, with emphasis on objective characterization of such motion (as a biomarker), along with analysis of the mechanical advantage that such motion may confer on spermatozoa during egg-vestment interaction. Key words: sperm, transport, mucus, cumulus, zona pellucida, fertilization INTRODUCTIONFlagellar movement is a fundamental expression of the vitality of a sperm cell, and is essential for its reproductive function. The active mechanism of flagellar motion produces a sequence of principal and reverse bends [Gibbons and Gibbons, 1974; Woolley, 19771. These can have varying degrees of curvature and can be initiated and propagated along the flagellum at different rates. Flagellar bending results in a distribution of local forces and torques against the surrounding fluid. In accordance with Newton's Third Law, these are resisted by equal and opposite local forces and torques. In order to satisfy Newton's Second Law, the summation of the local local external forces and torques over the sperm head and tail must be zero. As a consequence, there Received November 8, 1988; accepted November 17, 1988. Address reprint requests to David F. Katz In a general biophysical sense, mammalian sperm swim optimally; the principles of hydrodynamics and optimal control theory demonstrate that the smooth flagellar traveling waves, commonly seen in low-viscosity media, tend to maximize the sperm's propulsive velocity with respect to the hydrodynamic power output (Pironneau and Katz, 1974). Mammalian sperm must use their swimming ability to reach the oocyte-cumulus complex, and the forces due to flagellar motion assist them in penetrating the egg vestments to reach the oolemma.Our studies of these processes are hampered by their complexity and by apparent variation among species. Some of this biological variation is real; for example, the site of semen deposition may be the vagina, cervix, or uterus. These environments differ not only with respect to their distance from the site of ferti...

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“…It is thought that spermatozoa survive for 40-80 h in the female reproductive tract [10]. However, this holds true for Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Intrauterine insemination: is the timing correct?

Küçük¹

2008

J Assist Reprod Genet

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Objective To evaluate the impact of follicle rupture on pregnancy rate in intrauterine insemination. Material and method Retrospective cohort study. Evidence of follicle rupture was assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography following IUI. Two hundred ninety-six couples with unexplained infertility and 121 couples with male factor subfertility were included. Results of 578 cycles were analyzed here. Result Clinical pregnancy rate was 23.5% (64/272) in the group when follicle rupture was evident by transvaginal ultrasonography, while it was only 8.8% (27/306) when follicle rupture was not evident (p<0.001). Conclusion Postponing IUI until observation of follicle rupture may yield a higher pregnancy rate.

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Assessment of Human Sperm Function After Recovery from the Female Reproductive Tract

Cited by 89 publications

References 20 publications

Human Sperm Tail Proteome Suggests New Endogenous Metabolic Pathways

Human Sperm Tail Proteome Suggests New Endogenous Metabolic Pathways

Factors regulating mammalian sperm migration through the female reproductive tract and oocyte vestments

Intrauterine insemination: is the timing correct?

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