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McClean RV, Holt WV, Johnston SD. Ultrastructural observations of cryoinjury in kangaroo spermatozoa. Cryobiology 2007; 54:271-80. [PMID: 17462621 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2007.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2007] [Revised: 03/09/2007] [Accepted: 03/09/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Macropod spermatozoa have proven difficult to cryopreserve such that empirical studies using high concentrations of glycerol and/or DSMO have resulted in only 10% post-thaw motility. We examined the ultrastructure and freeze-fracture of caput and cauda epididymal macropod spermatozoa at 35, 4 degrees C and following cryopreservation with and without 20% glycerol. The addition of 20% glycerol resulted in significant damage to the sperm plasma membrane and mitochondria compared to no glycerol at the same temperatures (P<0.05). Following cryopreservation, 20% glycerol significantly improved the preservation of the cauda epididymal sperm plasma membrane and mitochondria and reduced the incidence of axonemal damage and axonemal spaces. For caput epididymal spermatozoa, glycerol only improved the preservation of the plasma membrane following cryopreservation (P<0.05). Freeze fracture microscopy revealed a pattern of helically wound intramembranous particles in the plasma membrane over the fibre network of the mid piece of the sperm tail. The fibre network is an interconnecting cytoskeletal structure found underneath the plasma membrane of the kangaroo sperm midpiece and is thought to add rigidity to the proximal portion of the sperm tail. After thawing, the plasma membrane was damaged such that this structure was missing in patches, and the helical rows of particles were mal-aligned. On the principal piece, particles were arranged randomly at physiological temperatures; however, upon cooling to 4 degrees C with 20% glycerol, the particles become aggregated. Once rewarmed (35 degrees C), particles over the principal piece resumed their random organisation. This finding is further evidence of a reversible phase transition of the macropod sperm plasma membrane during cooling that is not associated with a loss of motility or membrane integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhett V McClean
- School of Animal Studies, University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Australia.
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2
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Báo SN, de Souza W. Structural specialization in the flagellum of the spermatozoon of the bloodsucking bug (Rhodnius prolixus; Hemiptera, Reduviidae). Tissue Cell 1994; 26:299-308. [PMID: 8073413 DOI: 10.1016/0040-8166(94)90016-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Spermatozoa of the triatomideo Rhodnius prolixus possess an axoneme with a 9 + 9 + 2 microtubule pattern and two mitochondrial derivatives. Bridges occur between axoneme and mitochondrial derivatives. Two paracrystalline structures embedded in amorphous regions were observed in the mitochondrial derivative. The use of the negative staining technique shows a zig-zag profile in the mitochondrial derivatives due to infolding to the cristae, regularly spaced with approximately 50 nm. This spacing is also observed in the distribution of the strands of particles in the mitochondrial membrana as seen in freeze-fracture replicas. In the P-fracture face of the flagellar plasma membrane, a regular array of the intramembranous particles was observed. This array consists of two rows, with 12-15 particles, and occurs in the space between the mitochondrial derivatives. Thus R. prolixus spermatozoon present a membrane domain, localized in the flagellar region, and bridges between mitochondrial membrane derivatives and the plasma membrane are probably attached to the flagellar components. These membrane specializations may be related to the production of co-ordinated flagellar movement, and can contribute significantly to further phylogenetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- S N Báo
- Departamento de Genética e Morfologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasil
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Cesario M, Bartles J. Compartmentalization, processing and redistribution of the plasma membrane protein CE9 on rodent spermatozoa. Relationship of the annulus to domain boundaries in the plasma membrane of the tail. J Cell Sci 1994. [DOI: 10.1242/jcs.107.2.561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy were used to examine the compartmentalization, processing and redistribution of the integral plasma membrane protein CE9 on the spermatozoa of rats, mice and hamsters. In each species examined, spermatozoal CE9 was found to undergo endoproteolytic processing followed by a net redistribution from the posterior-tail domain into the anterior-tail domain of the plasma membrane during epididymal maturation. Compared to spermatozoa of the rat and mouse, those of the hamster were found to express a greater proportion of their CE9 within the anterior-tail plasma membrane domain at all stages of maturation. As a consequence, CE9 was judged to be a suitable marker for two different spermatozoal plasma membrane domains: the posterior-tail plasma membrane domain (spermatozoa from the testis and caput epididymidis of the rat and mouse) and the anterior-tail domain (spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis of the hamster). Immunogold electron microscopy was used to pinpoint the positions of the boundaries of these CE9-containing plasma membrane domains at a high level of resolution. In each case, the position of the CE9 domain boundary was found to be strongly correlated with that of the subplasmalemmal electron-dense ring known as the annulus. The precise spatial relationship between the CE9 domain boundary and the annulus was, however, found to differ significantly among species and/or as a function of maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- M.M. Cesario
- Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611
| | - J.R. Bartles
- Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611
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Ultrastructural analysis of sperm flagella in two clitellates (Annelida), plasma membrane and periaxonemal area. Tissue Cell 1991; 23:537-46. [DOI: 10.1016/0040-8166(91)90011-h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/1991] [Revised: 04/11/1991] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Yasuzumi F, Okura N, Kohata Y, Harutsugu K. Morphological and functional reconsideration of the cytoplasmic bridges which connect male germ cells in snails. JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE RESEARCH 1988; 99:261-71. [PMID: 3198954 DOI: 10.1016/0889-1605(88)90070-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Cytoplasmic bridges (CB) between male germ cells of three fresh-water snails have been examined by electron microscopy, using ultrathin sections and freeze-fracture replicas prepared by ordinary methods and after use of filipin for indicating the presence of membrane cholesterol. The bridge plasma membrane, which was formerly considered to be smooth, was found in these snails to be corrugated. The corrugations were periodically parallel and oriented parallel to the axis of the bridge. The mature bridges showed very low densities of intramembranous particles. No filipin-sterol complexes formed on either the P face or the E face of the bridge plasma membrane, in contrast to plasma membranes elsewhere. The numbers of corrugations in each CB varied with the species. The membrane corrugations overlie bundles of electron dense fibers measuring approximately 30 nm in diameter and 60 nm in center-to-center distance, fitting into convexities of the plasma membrane. The present observations lead us to the necessity of reconsidering the morphological and functional aspects of cytoplasmic bridges in vertebrate as well as in invertebrate germ cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Yasuzumi
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
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6
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Toyama Y, Nagano T. Maturation changes of the plasma membrane of rat spermatozoa observed by surface replica, rapid-freeze and deep-etch, and freeze-fracture methods. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 1988; 220:43-50. [PMID: 3348486 DOI: 10.1002/ar.1092200106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Rat spermatozoa from the epididymis and ductus deferens were observed by surface replica, rapid-freeze and deep-etch, and conventional freeze-fracture methods. By the surface replica method, parallel periodical ridges were observed in the acrosomal region of the spermatozoa from the distal part of the cauda epididymis (zone 6) and from the ductus deferens. The periodicity of the ridges forming a domain was about 35 nm. A quantitative analysis of the spermatozoa along the reproductive tract indicated that 39.4% and 73.5% of the population in zone 6 of the epididymis and in the ductus deferens, respectively, had the domain. None of the spermatozoa from zone 1 through zone 5 had the domain. The results of the rapid-freeze and deep-etch procedure showed that the ridges observed by the surface replica method consisted of linear arrangements of elliptical particles on the ES face of the plasma membrane. The particles were about 30 nm in length and 15 nm in width. On the corresponding PF face of the plasma membrane, linear arrangements of the intramembrane particles (IMPs) of about 8 nm in diameter were observed by both the deep-etch and freeze-fracture methods. The IMPs tended to run in paired parallel lines. A close relationship was observed between the lines of the elliptical particles on the ES and of the IMPs on the PF faces. The elliptical particle may be a protruded part of the IMP(s) or other protein(s) bound to the IMP(s).
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Toyama
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
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Dallai R, Afzelius B. Membrane specializations in the paired spermatozoa of dytiscid water beetles. Tissue Cell 1985; 17:561-72. [PMID: 18620143 DOI: 10.1016/0040-8166(85)90032-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/1985] [Revised: 05/13/1985] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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8
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Tesarík J. Topographical relations of intramembrane particle distribution patterns in human sperm membranes. JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH 1984; 89:42-55. [PMID: 6100554 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5320(84)80022-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The distribution of intramembrane particles in human sperm membranes has been explored with particular reference to the topographical region of the sperm cell and the membranes' fracture face. Conspicuous differences in the size, arrangement, density, and lateral mobility of intramembrane particles between some topographically distinct membrane domains are demonstrated. The greatest regionality is exhibited by the plasma membrane. In sperm head regions, it shows a significant variability and changes its particle distribution during culture in capacitating medium. In contrast, little variability and no changes during the incubation are seen in the acrosomal and nuclear membranes. Striking is the difference in particle distribution on the E face of the outer acrosomal membrane between the acrosomal and equatorial regions. It is suggested that the invariable regional difference in the organization of the outer acrosomal membrane may bear on the different behavior of its two main domains during sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction.
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Holt WV. Membrane heterogeneity in the mammalian spermatozoon. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 1984; 87:159-94. [PMID: 6370889 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)62442-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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11
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Dallai R, Afzelius BA. On zipper-lines or particle arrays within the plasma membrane of hemipteran spermatozoa (Heteroptera, Insecta). JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH 1982; 80:197-205. [PMID: 7120538 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5320(82)90018-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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12
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13
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Cosson MP, Gulik A. Description of the mitochondria-axoneme junction in sea urchin spermatozoa: presence of a flagellar necklace. JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH 1982; 79:47-57. [PMID: 7086943 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5320(82)90051-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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14
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Vierula M, Rajaniemi H. Regional differences in distribution of surface proteins over the bull spermatozoa. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY 1981; 4:39-48. [PMID: 7203691 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.1981.tb00688.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Surface-radioiodinated bull spermatozoa were ultrasonicated and fractionated by Percoll-gradient centrifugation. The different fractions obtained were solubilized and analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Three fractions containing sperm heads, midpieces, and membranes and small fragments of the principal pieces were obtained. The electrophoresis revealed 5 main peaks representing the radioiodinated surface proteins with molecular weights of 80 000-90 000 (Ia), 68 000-75 000 (Ib), 42 000-47 000 (II), 33 000-37 000 (III) and 15 000-18 000 (V) from the intact spermatozoa as well as from each sperm fragment fraction. The major differences between fractions were in the relative magnitudes of the peaks. The peak II characteristically dominated in the head fraction, but was very small in the midpiece fraction. The results from the present study suggest that the peak II seen in the intact spermatozoa is mainly located on the head plasma membrane and that the differences in the sperm surface properties may be due to the uneven distribution or surface exposure of the proteins.
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Reger JF, Fitzgerald ME, Camatini M. A correlated thin-selection freeze-fracture study on plasmalemmal and mitochondrial membrane specializations in the principal piece of spermatozoa from the chilopodan Lithobius forficatus L. JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH 1980; 73:157-68. [PMID: 7218418 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5320(80)90121-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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16
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Temple-Smith PD, Bedford JM. Sperm maturation and the formation of sperm pairs in the epididymis of the opossum, Didelphis virginiana. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY 1980; 214:161-71. [PMID: 7462982 DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402140206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Didelphis spermatozoa released from different levels of the epididymis exhibit a series of changes that reflect events involved in the process of their maturation. Their progression through the duct is accompanied by a rotation of the sperm head on the axis of the tail, by an eccentric movement of the cytoplasmic droplet to the anterior region of the midpiece from where it is discarded, by appearance in the posterior midpiece of regular submembranous electron-dense ridges, and by visible condensation of the mitochondrial cristae and matrix. The latter seems to correlate generally with onset of the ability for progressive motility acquired by most spermatozoa as they reach the lower corpus epididymidis. This phase is associated also with the beginnings of the pairing by the acrosomal surface that characterizes mature spermatozoa of New World marsupials. Use of lectins and cationized ferric colloid as affinity markers served to reveal changes occurring also in the character of the sperm head and tail surface prior to pairing. This investigation strengthens the idea gained from previous study of an Australian marsupial, Trichosurus, that the complexity of sperm maturation in the epididymis of Metatheria is broadly comparable to that observed in most eutherian mammals.
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Olson GE. Changes in intramembranous particle distribution in the plasma membrane of Didelphis virginiana spermatozoa during maturation in the epididymis. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 1980; 197:471-88. [PMID: 7212298 DOI: 10.1002/ar.1091970409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Structural specializations in the plasma membrane of opossum spermatozoa obtained from different levels of the epididymis have been analyzed in thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas. The maturation process was accompanied by a redistribution of intramembranous particles in the flagellar midpiece region. Caput epididymal spermatozoa are immotile, and freeze-fracture replicas of the midpiece plasma membrane reveal a random arrangement of intramembranous particles. As spermatozoa transit the corpus epididymis, the intramembranous particles in the midpiece plasma membrane are redistributed from a random arrangement to an organized packing pattern. This redistribution apparently involves the formation of chains of intramembranous particles which gradually increase in length, orient parallel to the flagellar long axis, and ultimately form numerous parallel rows, each three to five particles wide. In cauda epididymal spermatozoa the intramembranous particles within the rows are packed in an organized manner, and few free intramembranous particles are noted between rows. Analysis of thin sections revealed that the reorganization of intramembranous particles is accompanied by the deposition of a mat of amorphous material at the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. No striking changes in intramembranous particle distribution during epididymal maturation were found in other flagellar segments or in the plasma membrane overlying the sperm head.
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18
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Cummins JM. Decondensation of sperm nuclei of australian marsupials: Effects of air drying and of calcium and magnesium. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1980. [DOI: 10.1002/mrd.1120030407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Olson GE, Linck RW. Membrane differentiations in spermatozoa of the squid, Loligo pealeii. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1980. [DOI: 10.1002/mrd.1120030405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Reger JF, Itaya PW, Fitzgerald ME. A thin section and freeze-fracture study on membrane specializations in spermatozoa of the isopod, Armadillidium vulgare. JOURNAL OF ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH 1979; 67:180-93. [PMID: 469986 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5320(79)80006-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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21
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Tamm SL. Membrane movements and fluidity during rotational motility of a termite flagellate. A freeze-fracture study. J Cell Biol 1979; 80:141-9. [PMID: 422647 PMCID: PMC2110297 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.80.1.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Freeze-fracture electron microscopy was used to examine the structure of a region of plasma membrane that undergoes continual, unidirectional shear. Membrane shear arises from the continual clockwise rotation of one part (head) of a termite flagellate relative to the rest of the cell. Freeze-fracture replicas show that the lipid bilayer is continuous across the shear zone. Thus, the relative movements of adjacent membrane regions are visible evidence of membrane fluidity. The distribution and density of intramembrane particles within the membrane of the shear zone is not different from that in other regions of the cell membrane. Also, an additional membrane shear zone arises when body membrane becomes closely applied to the rotating axostyle as cells change shape in vitro. This suggests that the entire membrane is potentially as fluid as the membrane between head and body but that this fluidity is only expressed at certain locations for geometrical and/or mechanical reasons. Membrane movements may be explained solely by cell shape and proximity to rotating structures, although specific membrane-cytoskeletal connections cannot be ruled out. The membrane of this cell may thus be viewed as a fluid which adheres to the underlying cytoplasm/cytoskeleton and passively follows its movements.
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