Mammalian spermatozoa must undergo capacitation and acrosome reaction before fertilization. To date, the precise mechanisms regulating these complex processes are not well understood but it is generally agreed that they involve an influx of calcium from the extracellular space through, as yet, poorly characterized plasma membrane pathways. Here we present evidence for a novel mechanism to incre...

A field trial was conducted to compare the fertility predicting capacity of different sperm assays applying classical semen analysis, sperm function and the homologous in vitro penetration test (hIVP) to 60 ejaculates from four boars collected over a period of 15 weeks. No differences were found between the groups of fertility (Low Fertility: < 20%; Intermediate: 40-60% and High: > 80%) for spe...

Neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) are morphologically well-defined airway receptors, composed of densely innervated groups of neuroendocrine cells that are shielded from the airway lumen by Clara-like cells, and together form the so-called NEB microenvironment. Because NEBs receive at least two different populations of myelinated vagal afferents (one of them expressing P2X2/3 ATP receptors) with in...

Arachidonic acid or its metabolites have been implicated in the regulatory volume decrease (RVD) response after hypotonic cell swelling in some mammalian cells. The present study investigated the role of arachidonic acid (AA) during RVD in the human neuroblastoma cell line CHP-100. During the first nine minutes of hypo-osmotic exposure the rate of 3H-arachidonic acid (3H-AA) release increased t...

Objective: To examine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of frozen-thawed spermatozoa recovered through the SpermPrep (ZBL, Inc., Lexington, KY) filtration method or the swim-up technique for the purpclse of intrauterine insemination (IUI) or other techniques for assisted reproduction. Design, Setting, Patients: Thirty pairs of frozen specimens purchased from three commercial seme...

Guinea pig isolated vestibular type I hair cells (VIHCs) were recently reported by our group to respond to high [KCl] solutions by an irreversible tilt of their neck region and sometimes by a sustained shortening and swelling. A possible osmotic contribution to these shape changes was investigated by substituting gluconate (G) for chloride in the test solution, so as to minimize water influx, a...

We have previously reported that osmotic stress prominently induces the DNA binding activity of the heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1). In the present study, we examined the effects of medium osmolarity on both the activation of HSF1 and the programmed cell death in normal human fibroblasts during cellular senescence. The activation of HSF1 occurred rapidly in presenescent (early passage)...