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First published online June 18, 2008

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The acrosome reaction in real time

The sperm acrosome reaction (AR), which is an essential step in mammalian fertilisation, involves the calcium-dependent exocytosis of the acrosome (a single large vesicle in the apical sperm head). During the AR, acrosomal proteolytic enzymes are released and the inner acrosomal membrane (IAM) is exposed, but little is known about the temporal relationship between these two events. Now, Claire Harper and colleagues (p. 2130) address this issue by visualising AR progression in real time in living human sperm. Using two probes to detect the exposure of acrosomal content and of the IAM simultaneously, the authors show that the AR is a two-phase process – membrane fusion between the acrosome and the plasma membrane (which exposes acrosomal content) occurs rapidly, whereas the dispersal of acrosomal content (to reveal the IAM) is a very slow process that takes up to 12 minutes. The authors go on to show that sperm cells in which the AR is induced by the calcium ionophore A23187 survive for approximately 30 minutes. By contrast, most sperm cells that undergo spontaneous AR are those that are already non-motile or non-viable, which suggests a mechanism by which poor-quality sperm might be eliminated in vivo. These data provide the first insights into the dynamics of the AR.

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Related articles in JCS:

Dynamic resolution of acrosomal exocytosis in human sperm

Claire V. Harper, Joanne A. Cummerson, Michael R. H. White, Stephen J. Publicover, and Peter M. Johnson
JCS 2008 121: 2130-2135. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?