Caput Ligation Renders Immature Mouse Sperm Motile and Capable to Undergo cAMP-Dependent Phosphorylation.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian sperm must undergo two post-testicular processes to become fertilization-competent: maturation in the male epididymis and capacitation in the female reproductive tract. While caput epididymal sperm are unable to move and have not yet acquired fertilization potential, sperm in the cauda epididymis have completed their maturation, can move actively, and have gained the ability to undergo capacitation in the female tract or in vitro. Due to the impossibility of mimicking sperm maturation in vitro, the molecular pathways underlying this process remain largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the use of caput epididymal ligation as a tool for the study of sperm maturation in mice. Our results indicate that after seven days of ligation, caput sperm gained motility and underwent molecul

SUBMITTER: Tourzani DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8549708 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature