Motion of individual human spermatozoa, both normal and lacking the outer dynein arms, during a continuous temperature rise.
The effect of increasing temperature from 22-25 degrees C to 37 degrees C on various motion characteristics of individual normal human spermatozoa and spermatozoa lacking the outer dynein arms (LODA) was studied by using a new automatic microscopic tracking method. It was found that: 1) The curvilinear velocity (Vc, measured between 1-3 sec) of both normal and LODA spermatozoa, fluctuated more or less intensely between spermatozoa; this fluctuation was not thermodependent. 2) The average Vc in the two groups of spermatozoa increased with the rise in temperature at a similar rate (1 micron/sec/degrees C), but LODA spermatozoa had an initial Vc lower than that of normal spermatozoa (12.5 +/- 5.3 microns/sec and 34.2 +/- 8.2 microns/sec, respectively). 3) The profile of the Vc increase associated with the temperature rise was different for the two groups of spermatozoa: for LODA spermatozoa it was linear between 25-37 degrees C, whereas for normal spermatozoa a plateau was reached at about 31 degrees C. 4) Various patterns of trajectory were found for both normal and LODA spermatozoa; these patterns were unrelated to temperature. However, LODA spermatozoa had more linear trajectories than normal spermatozoa. 5) Plots derived from reaction rate theory showed that the activation enthalpy, delta H was a function of the increase of Vc for both normal and LODA spermatozoa, but that delta H was higher for LODA spermatozoa.
Auger
J
J
Laboratoire d'Histologie-Embryologie-Cytogénétique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Broussais, Hotel-Dieu, Paris, France.
Serres
C
C
Feneux
D
D
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000032:analysis*; D004398:Dyneins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008870:Microtubules / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013696:Temperature
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D004398:Dyneins