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Plasma Membrane Composition and Organisation During Maturation of Spermatozoa in the Epididymis

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The Epididymis: From Molecules to Clinical Practice

Abstract

In keeping with all somatic cells, mammalian spermatozoa are surrounded by a limiting plasma membrane (PM) containing lipids, proteins, glycolipids and glycoproteins arranged in a classic bilayer structure. Spermatozoa are also highly polarised cells and their PM is compartmentalised into different regions (acrosome, equatorial segment, postacrosome, midpiece and principal piece) that reflect compositional and functional heterogeneity. Unlike somatic cells, however, spermatozoa are exposed to widely different environments during their lifetime, ranging from the unique milieu within the seminiferous tubules to that in the epididymis, seminal plasma, uterus, oviduct, cumulous oophorus, and eventually the perivitilline space. The PM has to be sufficiently stable physiologically to withstand these varying conditions, while at the same time sensitive enough to detect specific signals from different fluids and to react accordingly. Since spermatozoa acquire their motility and fertilizing capacity during passage through the epididymal duct, much interest has centred on the nature of the PM during their transition from an infertile to a fertile state. This information is important not only from the standpoint of elucidating the biogenesis of the molecules involved in fertilization itself, but also for understanding the aetiology of infertility in man. This chapter, therefore, will focus on the PM remodelling events during passage of spermatozoa through the epididymis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gamete Signalling Laboratory, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, CB2 4AT, UK

    Roy Jones

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  1. Roy Jones
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Bernard Robaire

  2. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    Barry T. Hinton

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Jones, R. (2002). Plasma Membrane Composition and Organisation During Maturation of Spermatozoa in the Epididymis. In: Robaire, B., Hinton, B.T. (eds) The Epididymis: From Molecules to Clinical Practice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0679-9_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0679-9_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5191-7

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