Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx

Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx

Mammalian spermatozoa are coated with a thick glycocalyx that is assembled during sperm development, maturation, and upon contact with seminal fluid. The sperm glycocalyx is critical for sperm survival in the female reproductive tract and is modified during capacitation. The complex interplay among the various glycoconjugates generates numerous signaling motifs that may regulate sperm function ...

The glycocalyx of the sperm surface.

The surface of mammalian spermatozoa is covered by a dense coating of carbohydrate-rich molecules forming a 20-60 nm thick glycocalyx. The majority of sugar residues are attached to proteins which are either integrated within the sperm membrane, or are more or less loosely associated with it. It is estimated that there may be several hundred different glycoproteins comprising the glycocalyx, so...

Rheotaxis Guides Mammalian Sperm

BACKGROUND In sea urchins, spermatozoan motility is altered by chemotactic peptides, giving rise to the assumption that mammalian eggs also emit chemotactic agents that guide spermatozoa through the female reproductive tract to the mature oocyte. Mammalian spermatozoa indeed undergo complex adaptations within the female (the process of capacitation) that are initiated by agents ranging from pH ...

The Influence of Sperm Morphology, Total Motile Sperm Count of Semen and the Number of Motile Sperm Inseminated in Sperm Samples on the Success of Intrauterine Insemination

Bioenergetics of Mammalian Sperm Capacitation

After ejaculation, the mammalian male gamete must undergo the capacitation process, which is a prerequisite for egg fertilization. The bioenergetics of sperm capacitation is poorly understood despite its fundamental role in sustaining the biochemical and molecular events occurring during gamete activation. Glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) are the two major metabol...