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Metabolic Strategy in Human Spermatozoa: Its Impact on Sperm Motility

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Male Sterility and Motility Disorders

Part of the book series: Serono Symposia USA ((SERONOSYMP))

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Abstract

The mammalian spermatozoon must reach the site of fertilization in the oviduct to exert its ultimate biological role of delivering the male haploid DNA complement to the oocyte, thereby producing a pronucleate embryo and a subsequent pregnancy. In order to reach the oviduct in vivo, the sperm cell must be capable both of acquiring its characteristic motility pattern during maturation in the testes and of maintaining this motility pattern during its migration through the female reproductive tract. The capability of the sperm cell to display motion in vitro and in vivo is highly dependent on its ability to generate ATP, which, in turn, is used as the dynein ATPase substrate to transduce chemical energy into mechanical work by the contractile proteins of the flagellum. The ability of the spermatozoon to maintain its motility pattern in vitro and in vivo, therefore, is going to depend both on the normal function of the contractile proteins of the flagellum and its ability to generate ATP but also on the availability of metabolic substrate in the female reproductive tract to produce ATP.

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Authors
  1. Juan G. Alvarez
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Service de FIV, Hôpital A. Béclère, 92141, Clamart cedex, France

    Samir Hamamah Ph.D.

  2. Service de Gynéco-Obstétrique, Hôpital A. Béclère, 157, rue de la Porte-de-Trivaux, 92141, Clamart cedex, France

    François Olivennes M.D., Ph.D.  & René Frydman Ph.D.  & 

  3. Centre de Stérilité Masculine, Hôpital de la Grave, 31052, Toulouse cedex, France

    Roger Mieusset M.D.

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Alvarez, J.G. (1999). Metabolic Strategy in Human Spermatozoa: Its Impact on Sperm Motility. In: Hamamah, S., Olivennes, F., Mieusset, R., Frydman, R. (eds) Male Sterility and Motility Disorders. Serono Symposia USA. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1522-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1522-6_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7177-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1522-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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