ISSN:
0148-7280
Keywords:
zona pellucida
;
oviduct
;
fertilization
;
acrosome reaction induction
;
capacitation
;
mammals
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
The possible importance of the zona pellucida for induction of the acrosome reaction (AR) and establishment of sperm/egg associations in the fallopian tube was investigated by instilling zona-free eggs into the oviductal ampulla of hamsters that had been inseminated with epididymal spermatozoa 6-7 hours previously. The eggs were recovered only 60-90 minutes later because of increasing difficulty with time of collecting zona-free eggs from the oviduct. In the zona-free group, 41 (4%) of 1,101 transferred eggs were recovered, of which 20% contained spermatozoa with decondensing nuclei (mean 4.4/egg). A similar (22%) fertilization rate (mean 3.2 spermatozoa/egg) was found among intact (control) eggs recovered after instillation into the contralateral oviduct.Mammalian spermatozoa are not incorporated even into zona-free eggs before AR occurs. These results thus demonstrate that an AR in functional hamster spermatozoa in vivo and establishment of sperm/egg associations in vivo require no interaction with the zona pellucida nor with other products of ovulation.
Additional Material:
1 Tab.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1120210110
Permalink
