HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 72/3/574    most recent biolreprod.104.036095v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Furimsky, A. Articles by Tanphaichitr, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Furimsky, A. Articles by Tanphaichitr, N. Agricola Articles by Furimsky, A. Articles by Tanphaichitr, N.

Percoll Gradient-Centrifuged Capacitated Mouse Sperm Have Increased Fertilizing Ability and Higher Contents of Sulfogalactosylglycerolipid and Docosahexaenoic Acid-Containing Phosphatidylcholine Compared to Washed Capacitated Mouse Sperm¹

Hormones/Growth/Development Research Group,³ Ottawa Health Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada Department of Biochemistry/Microbiology/Immunology,⁴ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada Inhalation Toxicology and Aerobiology Section,⁵ Environment and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2, Canada Reproductive Medicine Division,⁶ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada

Although Percoll gradient centrifugation has been used routinely to prepare motile human sperm, its use in preparing motile mouse sperm has been limited. Here, we showed that Percoll gradient-centrifuged (PGC) capacitated mouse sperm had markedly higher fertilizing ability (sperm-zona pellucida [ZP] binding and in vitro fertilization) than washed capacitated mouse sperm. We also showed that the lipid profiles of PGC capacitated sperm and washed capacitated sperm differed significantly. The PGC sperm had much lower contents of cholesterol and phospholipids. This resulted in relative enrichment of male germ cell-specific sulfogalactosylglycerolipid (SGG), a ZP-binding ligand, in PGC capacitated sperm, and this would explain, in part, their increased ZP-binding ability compared with that of washed capacitated sperm. Analyses of phospholipid fatty acyl chains revealed that PGC capacitated sperm were enriched in phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecular species containing highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22: 6n-3) being the predominant HUFA (42% of total hydrocarbon chains of PC). In contrast, the level of PC-HUFAs comprising arachidonic acid (20:4n-6), docosapentaenoic acid (C22:5n-6), and DHA in washed capacitated sperm was only 27%. Having the highest unsaturation degree among all HUFAs in PC, DHA would enhance membrane fluidity to the uppermost. Therefore, membranes of PGC capacitated sperm would undergo fertilization-related fusion events at higher rates than washed capacitated sperm. These results suggested that PGC mouse sperm should be used in fertilization experiments and that SGG and DHA should be considered to be important biomarkers for sperm fertilizing ability.

¹ Supported by NSERC (grant RGPIN183958 to N.T.). A.F. and M.B.K. were awardees of Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS), and H.X. is an awardee of a Strategic Training Initiative in Research in the Reproductive Health Sciences (STIRRHS) bursary.

² Correspondence: Nongnuj Tanphaichitr, Ottawa Health Research Institute, 725 Parkdale Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada. FAX: 613 761 5365; ntanphaichitr{at}ohri.ca

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Anupriwan, M. Schenk, K. Kongmanas, R. Vanichviriyakit, D. Costa Santos, A. Yaghoubian, F. Liu, A. Wu, T. Berger, K. F. Faull, et al. Presence of Arylsulfatase A and Sulfogalactosylglycerolipid in Mouse Ovaries: Localization to the Corpus Luteum Endocrinology, August 1, 2008; 149(8): 3942 - 3951. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Xu, E. West, L. D. Shea, and T. K. Woodruff Identification of a Stage-Specific Permissive In Vitro Culture Environment for Follicle Growth and Oocyte Development Biol Reprod, December 1, 2006; 75(6): 916 - 923. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]