Factors regulating mammalian sperm migration through the female reproductive tract and oocyte vestments.
TLDR
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.Abstract:
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.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Minireview: Functions of the cumulus oophorus during oocyte maturation, ovulation, and fertilization.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mammalian Sperm Motility: Observation and Theory
Eamonn A. Gaffney,Hermes Gadêlha,Hermes Gadêlha,David J. Smith,David J. Smith,John Blake,Jackson Kirkman-Brown +6 more
TL;DR: The biological structure of the motile sperm appendage, the flagellum, is described and placed in the context of the mechanics underlying the migration of mammalian sperm through the numerous environments of the female reproductive tract.
Journal ArticleDOI
A critical review of the physiological importance and analysis of sperm movement in mammals
TL;DR: A critical review of a number of aspects of hyperactivated motility, including its identification and potential role(s) in mammalian fertilization, is presented.
Book ChapterDOI
16 - Sperm Competition in Mammals
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the fact that as compared to other mammals, including primates, humans are behaviorally, anatomically, and physiologically monandrous.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rheotaxis facilitates upstream navigation of mammalian sperm cells
TL;DR: The first quantitative study of mammalian sperm rheotaxis is reported, using microfluidic devices to investigate systematically swimming of human and bull sperm over a range of physiologically relevant shear rates and viscosities and shows that the interplay of fluid shear, steric surface-interactions, and chirality of the flagellar beat leads to stable upstream spiralling motion of sperm cells.
References
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Book ChapterDOI
Mechanisms of Fertilization in Mammals
TL;DR: This chapter will discuss how mammalian spermatozoa prepare themselves for fertilization and how the spermatozosa and eggs interact during fertilization.
Journal ArticleDOI
Calcium dependence of the acrosome reaction and activation of guinea pig spermatozoa.
Ryuzo Yanagimachi,Noriko Usui +1 more
TL;DR: Guinea pig spermatozoa fail to fertilize eggs in Ca 2+ -free media primarily because of specific inhibition of the acrosome reaction and activation of the spermatoza, and possible mechanisms by which Ca 2+, a nonvolatile substance, triggers these processes are discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
The movement of golden hamster spermatozoa before and after capacitation.
TL;DR: The movement of these capacitated spermatozoa of the golden hamster is quite different from that of fresh epididymal (uncapacitated) spermatoza, which shows an extraordinarily active movement.
Journal ArticleDOI
Cyclic adenosine 3',5' monophosphate, calcium and protein phosphorylation in flagellar motility.
Joseph S. Tash,Anthony R. Means +1 more
TL;DR: The identification of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, calmodulin and myosin light chain kinase in the sperm head suggests that cAMP and calcium-dependent phosphorylations are also involved in the control of the fertilization process, i.e., the acrosome reaction, in a manner similar to that known for theControl of stimulus/secretion coupling.
Journal ArticleDOI
Significance of the need for sperm capacitation before fertilization in eutherian mammals.
TL;DR: coordination of the rate of capacitation appropriate to fertilization in vivo may depend not only on the minimal time ordained for the species, but also on a heterogeneity among subpopulations of spermatozoa within any one sample and the timing of sperm transport to the oviduct.