oxidative stress has been identified as a crucial factor leading to male infertility largely due to peroxidativedamage to the sperm cell membrane. cadmium (cd) is a widespread environmental pollutant and oneof the well-known reproductive toxicants. because of its long biological half-life (10–30 years), cdaccumulates in the biological systems. the present study was designed to assess the concen...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short non-coding RNA molecules, which diversely regulate gene expression in organisms. Although the regulatory role of these small RNA molecules has been recently explored in animal spermatogenesis, the role of miR-124 in male germ cells is poorly defined. In our previous study, flotillin-2 was investigated as a novel Golgi-related protein involved in sperm acr...

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in sperm maturation during epididymal transit, we intended to isolate secretory molecules that are region-specifically expressed along the epididymis and secreted into the lumen of epididymal ducts. By using differential display screening and DNA sequence analyses, we isolated a rat bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) possessing a si...

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of the direct addition of pentoxifylline (PF) to the ejaculates of men with poor sperm quality before freezing on post-thaw sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity, and agonist-induced acrosome reaction. Semen specimens from 16 infertile men with impaired sperm count and motility (oligoasthenozoospermia) were divided into t...

Soluble N-ethylmalameide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins are present in mammalian sperm and could be involved in critical membrane fusion events during fertilization, namely the acrosome reaction. Vesicle-associated membrane protein/synaptobrevin, a SNARE on the membrane of a vesicular carrier, and syntaxin 1, a SNARE on the target membrane, as well as the calcium ...

background: exposure to arsenic is associated with impairment of male reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress. silymarin with an antioxidant property scavenges free radicals. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effects of sodium arsenite on ram sperm plasma membrane and acrosome integrity. materials and methods: ram epidydimal sper...

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...

Cryopreservation causes extensive damage to spermatozoa, thereby impairing their fertilizing ability. The purpose of this study was to determine if the direct addition of pentoxifylline to the seminal plasma before cryopreservation improved sperm motility and acrosome reaction. Semen specimens from 15 healthy volunteers were divided into two aliquots. One aliquot was treated by adding 5 mM pent...

Testicular samples were collected to describe the ultrastructure of spermiogenisis in Alligator mississipiensis (American Alligator). Spermiogenesis commences with an acrosome vesicle forming from Golgi transport vesicles. An acrosome granule forms during vesicle contact with the nucleus, and remains posterior until mid to late elongation when it diffuses uniformly throughout the acrosomal lume...

Evidence has been presented that the PH-20 protein functions in sperm adhesion to the egg zona pellucida (Primakoff, P., H. Hyatt, and D. G. Myles, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:2239-2244). The PH-20 protein migrates from its original surface domain to a new surface domain after the acrosome reaction (Myles, D. G., and P. Primakoff, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 99:1634-1641). The acrosome reaction is an exo...