Biol Reprod Track the topics, authors and articles important to you
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Belmonte, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Sosa, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Belmonte, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Sosa, M. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Belmonte, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Sosa, M. A.
Biology of Reproduction 63, 1172-1178 (2000)
© 2000 Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

ARTICLES

Changes in Distribution of Phosphomannosyl Receptors During Maturation of Rat Spermatozoa1

Silvia A. Belmonte2,a, Patricia S. Romanoa, Walter M. Fornésa, and Miguel A. Sosaa

a Instituto de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

The aim of the present work was to study the distribution of the cation-independent (CI) and cation-dependent (CD) mannose-6-phosphate receptors (MPRs) in spermatozoa obtained from either rete testis or three regions of rat epididymis. We observed that both receptors underwent changes in distribution as spermatozoa passed from rete testis to cauda epididymis. CI-MPR was concentrated in the dorsal region of the head in rete testis sperm and that this labeling extended to the equatorial segment of epididymal spermatozoa. CD-MPR, however, changed from a dorsal distribution in rete testis, caput, and corpus to a double labeling on the dorsal and ventral regions in cauda spermatozoa. The percentages of spermatozoa that showed staining for either CI-MPR or CD-MPR increased from rete testis to epididymis. The observed changes were probably the result of a redistribution during transit rather than an unmasking of receptors. The fluorescence corresponding to CD-MPR and CI-MPR on the dorsal region disappeared when caudal spermatozoa underwent the acrosomal reaction. Receptors were localized on the plasmalemma of spermatozoa, as observed by immunoelectron microscopy. Changes in distribution may be related to a maturation process, which suggests new roles for the phosphomannosyl receptors.

First decision: 26 April 2000.

1 Supported by grant PLI-323/98 from PLACIRH.

2 Correspondence: Silvia A. Belmonte, Instituto de Histologia y Embriologia, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Casilla de Correo 56, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina. FAX: 54 261 4494117;sbelmont{at}fmed2.uncu.edu.ar






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2000 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction.