ISSN:
0148-7280
Keywords:
antigens
;
plasma membrane
;
intracellular
;
monoclonal antibodies
;
spermatozoa
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Fluorescent antibody labeling techniques are frequently used to investigate the topography of antigens on spermatozoa. It is generally assumed that these procedures detect molecules only on the sperm surface but we now show that this assumption is not always valid. Using monoclonal antibodies that recognize either surface or internal antigens we demonstrate how spurious conclusions can be made, and we suggest simple procedures for assigning the position of an antigen to the cell surface or to an intracellular organelle. Antibodies against plasma membrane antigens should stain 100% of normal intact spermatozoa, but this proportion should be greatly reduced if the spermatozoa have previously been demembranated. If ≪ 100% of spermatozoa are stained but the proportion increases following permeabilization, then the possibility should be considered that the antigens are intracellular. We conclude that assignment of an antigen to a regional domain on the sperm surface using fluorescent antibody techniques should be validated by a demonstration that the antigen is actually located on the cell surface.
Additional Material:
3 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1120080306
