In the early 1950s, Austin and Chang independently described the changes that are
required for the sperm to fertilize oocytes in vivo. These changes were originally grouped …

BACKGROUND The best-known role of spermatozoa is to fertilize the oocyte and to transmit
the paternal genome to offspring. These highly specialized cells have a unique structure …

BACKGROUND Sperm hyperactivation is critical to fertilization, because it is required for
penetration of the zona pellucida. Hyperactivation may also facilitate release of sperm from …

The cysteine-rich secretory proteins, antigen 5, and pathogenesis-related 1 proteins (CAP)
superfamily members are found in a remarkable range of organisms spanning each of the …

Zinc has antioxidative properties and plays an important role in scavenging reactive oxygen
species. We hypothesized that in the absence of Zn, the possibility of increased oxidative …

BACKGROUND The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in human spermatozoa, and
VDR-knockout mice and vitamin D (VD) deficiency in rodents results in impaired fertility, low …

Intracellular Ca 2+ stores play a central role in the regulation of cellular [Ca 2+] i and the
generation of complex [Ca 2+] signals such as oscillations and waves. Ca 2+ signalling is of …

Thanks to a worrying decrease in male fertility, understanding how sperm'work'is a matter
both of interest and great importance. Sperm of all animals detect various environmental …

The acrosome reaction is a secretory event that must be completed by the sperm of many
animal species prior to fusion with eggs. In mammals, exocytosis in triggered by ZP3, a …

Sperm chemotaxis is a chemical guiding mechanism that may orient spermatozoa to the egg
surface. A picomolar concentration gradient of Progesterone (P), the main steroidal …