Post-ejaculatory modifications to sperm (PEMS).

ABSTRACT: Mammalian sperm must spend a minimum period of time within a female reproductive tract to achieve the capacity to fertilize oocytes. This phenomenon, termed sperm 'capacitation', was discovered nearly seven decades ago and opened a window into the complexities of sperm-female interaction. Capacitation is most commonly used to refer to a specific combination of processes that are believed to be widespread in mammals and includes modifications to the sperm plasma membrane, elevation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels, induction of protein tyrosine phosphorylation, increased intracellular Ca²⁺ levels, hyperactivation of motility, and, eventually, the acrosome reaction. Capacitation is only one example of post-ejaculatory modifications to sperm (PEMS) that are widespread throughout

SUBMITTER: Pitnick S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7643048 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature