Cellular membranes are heterogeneous, and this has a great impact on cellular function. Despite the central role of membrane functions in multiple cellular processes in sperm, their molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Membrane rafts are specific membrane domains enriched in cholesterol, ganglioside GM1, and functional proteins, and they are involved in the regulation of a variety of cel...

Our recent studies suggested that the freezability of carp semen is related to seminal plasma protein profiles. Here, we aimed to compare the spermatozoa proteomes of good (GF) and poor (PF) freezability semen of carp. To achieve this, we used two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis followed by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. The semen was classified as GF or PF based on sperm motili...

The aim of this article is to review the surface molecules that are involved in capacitation/acrosomal exocytosis and zona pellucida (ZP) binding in context of tyrosine phosphorylation leading to signal transduction in human sperm. During capacitation, at least 7 proteins (200, 112, 104, 48, 42, 31 and 25 kD) are phosphorylated as studied by the 32P metabolic labeling assay, and 14 proteins (12...

Sperm and eggs have interacting proteins on their surfaces that influence their compatibility during fertilization. These proteins are often polymorphic within species, producing variation in gamete affinities. We first demonstrate the fitness consequences of various sperm bindin protein (Bindin) variants in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and assortative mating between males and ...

Outer dense fibers (ODFs), as unique accessory structures in mammalian sperm, are considered to play a role in the protection of the sperm tail against shear forces. However, the role and relevant mechanisms of ODFs in modulating sperm motility and its pathological involvement in asthenozoospermia were unknown. Here, we found that the percentage of ODF defects was higher in asthenozoospermic sa...

Problem statement: Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of the prostatic fluid from the first and third fractions of the ejaculates on the freezability of poodle dog sperm. Approach: The ejaculates from 2 trained poodle dogs were collected. Effect of prostatic fluid from the first and third fractions of ejaculates on cryosurvival of dog sperm was examined. SDS-PAGE analyses we...

BACKGROUND Serum albumin is a key component in mammalian sperm capacitation, a functional maturation process by which sperm become competent to fertilize oocytes. Capacitation is accompanied by several cellular and molecular changes including an increased tyrosine phosphorylation of sperm proteins and a development of hyperactivated sperm motility. Both of these processes require extracellular ...

BACKGROUND A key role of estrogens in human sperm biology has been recently suggested by aromatase and estrogen receptor detection in human testicular germ cells and ejaculated spermatozoa. However, the involvement of these hormones in the sperm maturation process is still not defined. The aim of this work was to investigate the expression of estrogen receptors, ER-alpha and ER-beta, in human e...