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Assays for Vertebrate Sperm Chemotaxis

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Germ Cell Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 253))

Abstract

Although sperm motility has been studied for over 300 yr, sperm chemotaxis in animals has been documented and quantified only in the last 40 yr. A clear demonstration of chemotactic guidance of sperm to eggs, thereby increasing the likelihood of fertilization, was first provided in a number of invertebrate species, most notably ascidians and sea urchins (for a review, see ref. 1). Studies of the sperm chemoattractant resact, a small peptide released from the jelly coat of sea urchin eggs, led to molecular characterization of the peptide, its receptor, and the intracellular signaling pathways used to modify sperm movement (2–5). More recently, evidence for sperm chemotaxis in vertebrates was obtained. Work from several laboratories demonstrated that human follicular fluid contains a sperm chemoattractant that acts preferentially on capacitated spermatozoa (6–16). The chorion of teleost eggs, especially that of herring, was shown to release proteins that initiate sperm motility close to the egg micropyle (17,18), thus serving a role functionally similar to that of a sperm chemoattractant. Recently, allurin, a 21-kDa protein demonstrated to be a sperm chemoattractant, was isolated from Xenopus laevis egg jelly and sequenced (19,20). Sequence analysis indicated that allurin is homologous to several mammalian sperm-binding proteins and studies are underway to identify an allurin ortholog in mammals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan

    Hitoshi Sugiyama & Douglas E. Chandler

  2. Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

    Bader Al-Anzi

  3. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

    Robert W. McGaughey

Authors
  1. Hitoshi Sugiyama
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  2. Bader Al-Anzi
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  3. Robert W. McGaughey
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  4. Douglas E. Chandler
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri—Columbia, Columbia, MO

    Heide Schatten

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© 2004 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Sugiyama, H., Al-Anzi, B., McGaughey, R.W., Chandler, D.E. (2004). Assays for Vertebrate Sperm Chemotaxis. In: Schatten, H. (eds) Germ Cell Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 253. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-744-0:027

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-744-0:027

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-121-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-744-4

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