Effects of in vitro storage on the ATP-phosphohydrolase activity and ultrastructure of ejaculated bull sperm.
Extended bull ejaculates were stored in vitro at 4 +/- 1 degree C in the dark. The pH of the ejaculates did not change significantly during storage. The percentage of sperm with intact plasmalemmae was 70% on day 2 and negligible by day 36. On day 2, acrosomes were absent in 3% of the sperm and partial in about 20%; acrosomal damage increased with storage, and by day 36 acrosomes were absent in 12% of the sperm and partially degraded in 72%. The Mg++-ATPase activity decreased from 2.6 to 1.9 microM Pi liberated per 2 X 10(7) sperm per 30 min incubation at 37 degrees between days 2 and 9, but remained at about 65% of its initial value between days 9 and 36. Thin-sectioned sperm sampled from ejaculates at days 2, 9, and 36 of storage showed a gradual but steady deterioration, which began and was most drastic in the head. Flagellar deterioration was negligible on day 9, but by day 36 subtle evidence of deterioration appeared. The persistence of Mg++-ATPase at 65% of initial levels in sperm stored 36 days in vitro is probably attributable to the stability of the movement-related flagellar ATPases.
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017301:Ca(2+) Mg(2+)-ATPase; D002417:Cattle; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012662:Semen Preservation; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013997:Time Factors
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D017301:Ca(2+) Mg(2+)-ATPase