Comparative studies were made of semen samples from subfertile RR and normally fertile rr cockerels. These samples were obtained either by abdominal massage or directly from the tip of papillae. The numbers of collected sperm did not differ between genotypes and the sperm from RR cockerels were less motile than those from rr cockerels irrespective of the semen collection method. The uric acid c...

Gelatinolytic activity of whole mouse spermatozoa was demonstrated by the gelatin film test. The presence of a trypsin-like protease (acrosin) in acidic extracts of mouse spermatozoa was shown by an electrophoretic method to separate the enzyme from a putative inhibitor.

The aim of this study was to use biochemical markers to evaluate the quality of fresh and cryopreserved semen from the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Twenty-three manually collected ejaculates were analysed for the main indicators of semen quality (sperm concentration and ejaculate volume). Sperm motility and percentage of morphologically normal and abnormal spermatozoa were determined according ...

Proacrosin, the zymogen precursor of acrosin, was shown to associate with anionic phospholipid membranes through apparent electrostatic charge interactions. This association was diminished by elevated cation concentrations and was dependent on membrane composition, as shown both by direct binding assays and by following the phospholipid stimulation of conversion of proacrosin into acrosin.

The interaction between acrosome-reacted sperm and zona pellucida proteins is not yet fully understood. Serine protease acrosin and its zymogen proacrosin have been proposed to fulfill this function due to their capacity to bind zona pellucida glycoproteins. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this interaction has been merely speculative. Here we show that fucoidan (a sulfated polysacch...