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Biology of Reproduction, Vol 23, 847-857, Copyright © 1980 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

Surface-Bound Sialic Acid on Ram and Bull Spermatozoa: Deposition During Epididymal Transit and Stability During Washing

W. V. HOLT 1

1 Wellcome Laboratories of Comparative Physiology, Institute of Zoology, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, England, U. K.


By use of cytochemistry in conjunction with automatic image analysis it was shown that ram spermatozoa carried a low level of negative charge on, or shortly after, entering the epididymis. The charge increased during passage between the corpus and cauda epididymidis, the increase being caused almost entirely by the addition of sialic acid groups to the sperm surface.

After ejaculation, ram spermatozoa retained their net-negative charge, which was again mainly attributable to sialic acid. Ejaculated bull spermatozoa also carried a net-negative charge, about 50% of which was due to sialic acid residues.

The sialic acid groups of ejaculated ram and bull spermatozoa were unaffected by a simple but efficient washing procedure, indicating that they were firmly attached to the plasma membrane.

Note:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am most grateful to Professor J. L. Hancock for the support and encouragement of this work, and also to Mr. T. J. Dennett for his assistance with the preparation of the electron photomicrographs. The samples of ram and bull spermatozoa were generously provided by Dr. H. M. Dott and Dr. P. F. Watson, who also assisted with the statistical analysis of the results. The Optomax image analyzer was purchased with a grant from the Medical Research Council.

Submitted on March 3, 1980
Accepted on August 4, 1980




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Copyright © 1980 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction.