Disruption of the principal, progesterone-activated sperm Ca2+ channel in a CatSper2-deficient infertile patient.

ABSTRACT: The female steroid hormone progesterone regulates ovulation and supports pregnancy, but also controls human sperm function within the female reproductive tract. Progesterone causes elevation of sperm intracellular Ca(2+) leading to sperm hyperactivation, acrosome reaction, and perhaps chemotaxis toward the egg. Although it has been suggested that progesterone-dependent Ca(2+) influx into human spermatozoa is primarily mediated by cationic channel of sperm (CatSper), the principal flagellar Ca(2+) channel of sperm, conclusive loss-of-function genetic evidence for activation of CatSper by progesterone has yet to be provided. Moreover, it is not clear whether the responsiveness of CatSper to progesterone is an innate property of human spermatozoa or is acquired as the result of exposure to th

SUBMITTER: Smith JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3637729 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature