The structural specificity of carbohydrate in the initiation of rat sperm motility.
Mammalian spermatozoa are stored in the cauda epididymis (CE) in a quiescent state and become motile when diluted with seminal plasma upon ejaculation. The structural specificity of a variety of sugars and sugar derivatives as diluents that are capable of initiating a transition of CE spermatozoa from the quiescent to the actively motile state was examined. It was found that monosaccharides, except those containing less than five-carbon skeletons, were good motility initiators; a trisaccharide tested showed reduced activity. The initiation activity was also independent of the structural stereospecificity and the nutritional value of the sugar. Based on these observations, a mechanism involving a receptor which handles sugar transport or sugar recognition in a transport process is proposed to be responsible for generating a signal that triggers CE spermatozoal motility.
D000818:Animals; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D004822:Epididymis / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012661:Semen / Q000502:physiology; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D002241:Carbohydrates; D004187:Disaccharides; D009005:Monosaccharides; D009844:Oligosaccharides