The sperm of Microstigmus arlei and Microstigmus nigrophthalmus are twisted in a spiral and consist of two regions: the head, formed by an acrosome and a nucleus, and the flagellum, formed by two asymmetric mitochondrial derivatives, a long centriolar adjunct, an axoneme (9+9+2) and two accessory bodies. The head shows a characteristic morphology. The acrosome is very long and is basically made...

BACKGROUND Endocrine disruptors are exogenous substance, interfere with the endocrine system, and disrupt hormonal functions. However, the effect of endocrine disruptors in different species has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the possible effects of 17ß-estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), genistein (GEN) and 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), on capacitation and the acrosome reaction ...

Cross-linked complexes formed between certain lectins and their specific multivalent carbohydrates and glycoconjugates on the sperm surface were studied for their ability to modify sperm membrane permeability and to induce the acrosome reaction. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), concanavalin A (Con A) and peanut agglutinin (PNA) increased the proportions of human spermatozoa permeable to the imperme...

introduction: the acrosome is a sac shaped organelle contaning lysosomal enzyme that is located on the anterior of sperm head. during the acrosome reaction its content is released in the vicinity of the egg. the acrosome reacted sperm then penetrates through the egg barriers. there are several methods for evaluating the acrosomal status; some of those are complex, expensive and/or non-accurate ...

The release of enzymes from the acrosome of the sperm head (acrosome reaction) starts the fertilization process and enables the spermatozoa to penetrate the zona pellucida of the oocytes. Defective acrosome reaction is one of the important causes of infertility in men. To investigate the molecular regulation of spermatogenesis in vivo, we used differential display reverse transcription-polymera...

This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of acrosomal changes during capacitation of bovine spermatozoa in relationship to in vitro fertility of individual bulls. Motile spermatozoa were separated from frozen-thawed semen by a swim-up procedure and capacitated in IVF-TALP medium with or without heparin. The spermatozoa were evaluated in terms of acrosomal changes at 0, 3, 4, 5...

Changes in sperm structure and function occur during the processing of semen. The present study was designed to investigate the effect on buck sperm during different stages of semen preparation including dilution, cooling, equilibration and freeze-thawing. Semen ejaculates from three mature bucks (replicates = 5) were diluted with tris-citric acid egg yolk glycerol extender at 37 ºC, cooled to ...

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress in teratozoospermic semen samples caused poor assisted reproductive techniques (ART) outcomes. Among antioxidants, ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring free radical scavenger and as such its presence assists various other mechanisms in decreasing numerous disruptive free radical processes. OBJECTIVE The main goal of this study was to evaluate potential protective...

Platelet activating factor (PAF) is a novel signaling phospholipids that in addition to platelet activation has many biological properties. The acrosome reaction, as an essential step in mammalian fertilization, can occur in response to several agents such as PAF. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effect of PAF on the motility and acrosome reaction of ram spermatozoa. Semen was c...