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The roles of the epididymis and prostasomes in the attainment of fertilizing capacity by stallion sperm.
Abstract: The epididymis is a long, tightly coiled tube within the lumen of which sperm matures. Sperm maturation involves morphological and biochemical changes in the sperm plasma membrane in response to epididymal secretions and their various proteins. Some of these proteins become outer membrane components while others become integral membrane proteins; transfer of some proteins to the sperm plasma membrane may be mediated by epididymosomes. Nevertheless, the molecular pathways by which spermatozoa acquire fertilizing capacity during their transit through the epididymis remain ambiguous. In a recent study of stallion epididymal sperm, we found that sperm harvested from different parts of the epididymis (caput, corpus and cauda) had a varying, but generally poor, ability to undergo the acrosome reaction in vitro. At ejaculation, however, sperm mix with seminal plasma which contains various components, including the small membranous vesicles known as prostasomes, that may enable the sperm to undergo physiological activation. Seminal plasma components may have a 'washing' effect and help to remove 'de-capacitation' factors that coat the sperm during storage in the cauda epididymis; alternatively seminal plasma and prostasomes may contain factors that more directly promote sperm activation. This article reviews current information on the roles of epididymal and accessory gland fluids on the acquisition of fertilizing capacity by stallion sperm.
Publication Date: 2008-04-29 PubMed ID: 18550301DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2008.04.011Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Review
Summary
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This research article investigates the roles of the epididymis and prostasomes in the maturation of stallion sperm, the process through which it develops the ability to fertilize. It suggests that sperm undergoes different modifications across different parts of the epididymis, the effects which seminal plasma and prostasomes might have on this process, and the possible ways in which the sperm can be activated for fertilization.
Epididymis and Sperm Maturation
- The epididymis is a long coiled tube where sperm undergoes maturation.
- During this process, the sperm plasma membrane undergoes various morphological and biochemical changes in response to epididymal secretions and proteins.
- Some of these proteins embed themselves in the outer membrane of the sperm while others integrate into the membrane itself.
- The study indicates that this transfer of proteins may be facilitated by epididymosomes, i.e., small vesicles that carry these proteins.
- The precise molecular pathways that enable the sperm to acquire the ability to fertilize during this transit through the epididymis remain unclear.
Role of the Different Parts of the Epididymis
- The authors of the study mention that sperm taken from different parts of the epididymis (caput, corpus, and cauda) demonstrated varying aptitudes for undergoing the acrosome reaction – a critical step in fertilization – in laboratory conditions.
Prostasomes and Seminal Plasma
- Sperm mixes with seminal plasma during ejaculation. This seminal plasma contains various components, including small membrane-covered vesicles called prostasomes, which might enable the physiological activation of sperm, i.e., prepare it for fertilization.
- It is suggested that the components of seminal plasma could wash away decapacitation factors from the sperm. These factors coat the sperm during its storage in the cauda epididymis and have to be removed before the sperm can be ready for fertilization.
- The seminal plasma and prostasomes may also contain factors that directly promote the activation of the sperm.
Conclusion
- This article is a review of existing information regarding how fluids from the epididymis and accessory glands influence the development of a stallion sperm’s ability to fertilize.
Cite This Article
APA
Sostaric E, Aalberts M, Gadella BM, Stout TA.
(2008).
The roles of the epididymis and prostasomes in the attainment of fertilizing capacity by stallion sperm.
Anim Reprod Sci, 107(3-4), 237-248.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2008.04.011 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. e.sostaric@uu.nl
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Epididymal Secretory Proteins / physiology
- Epididymis / chemistry
- Epididymis / physiology
- Fertilization / physiology
- Horses / physiology
- Male
- Membrane Proteins / physiology
- Seminal Plasma Proteins / physiology
- Sperm Capacitation / physiology
- Sperm Maturation / physiology
- Spermatozoa / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Ibrahim ZH, Al-Kheraije KA, Singh SK. Morphological and histochemical changes in the dromedary camel epididymis in relation to reproductive activity. Histol Histopathol 2021 May;36(5):485-504.
- Batra V, Dagar K, Nayak S, Kumaresan A, Kumar R, Datta TK. A Higher Abundance of O-Linked Glycans Confers a Selective Advantage to High Fertile Buffalo Spermatozoa for Immune-Evasion From Neutrophils. Front Immunol 2020;11:1928.
- Ganapiriya V, Suganthi AS, Maharajan A. Ultrastructure of the male accessory glands of sesarmid crab, Parasesarma plicatum (Latreille, 1803). J Microsc Ultrastruct 2017 Apr-Jun;5(2):111-117.
- Du J, Shen J, Wang Y, Pan C, Pang W, Diao H, Dong W. Boar seminal plasma exosomes maintain sperm function by infiltrating into the sperm membrane. Oncotarget 2016 Sep 13;7(37):58832-58847.
- Dzyuba V, Słowińska M, Cosson J, Ciereszko A, Boryshpolets S, Štĕrba J, Rodina M, Linhart O, Dzyuba B. Characterization of proteolytic and anti-proteolytic activity involvement in sterlet spermatozoon maturation. Fish Physiol Biochem 2016 Dec;42(6):1755-1766.
- Skerget S, Rosenow MA, Petritis K, Karr TL. Sperm Proteome Maturation in the Mouse Epididymis. PLoS One 2015;10(11):e0140650.
- Yoon M, Jiang J, Chung KH, Roser JF. Immunolocalization of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its receptors (IGF-IR) in the equine epididymis. J Reprod Dev 2015;61(1):30-4.
- Dzyuba V, Dzyuba B, Cosson J, Boryshpolets S, Yamaner G, Kholodniy V, Rodina M. The antioxidant system of sterlet seminal fluid in testes and Wolffian ducts. Fish Physiol Biochem 2014 Dec;40(6):1731-9.
- Parhizkar S, Yusoff MJ, Dollah MA. Effect of Phaleria macrocarpa on Sperm Characteristics in Adult Rats. Adv Pharm Bull 2013;3(2):345-52.
- He L, Jiang H, Cao D, Liu L, Hu S, Wang Q. Comparative transcriptome analysis of the accessory sex gland and testis from the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). PLoS One 2013;8(1):e53915.
- Alkafafy M, Rashed R, Emara S, Nada M, Helal A. Histological and immunohistochemical studies on the epididymal duct in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius). Anat Cell Biol 2011 Dec;44(4):284-94.
- Li H, Pan C, Wang Y, Li J, Zhang Z, Shahzad K, Mustafa SB, Wang Y, Zhao W. Analysis of histomorphology and SERNINA5 gene expression in different regions of epididymis of cattleyak. J Mol Histol 2024 Oct;55(5):825-834.
- Egyptien S, Deleuze S, Ledeck J, Ponthier J. Sperm Quality Assessment in Stallions: How to Choose Relevant Assays to Answer Clinical Questions. Animals (Basel) 2023 Oct 6;13(19).
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