Fine structural changes in the postacrosomal region of the hamster and mouse sperm head at the initial stage of gamete interaction in vivo.
This report documents ultrastructural changes in the postacrosomal region of the hamster and mouse sperm head at the initial stage of gamete interaction in vivo. Prominent structures were sequentially visualized: first, the periodic substructure crossbridging the postacrosomal sheath to the overlying plasma membrane, and then the small, electron-dense, granular structures lining the outer surface of the postacrosomal sheath. The periodic substructure became visible at the restricted region where the sperm plasma membrane was just prior to or in the act of detaching from the periodic substructure. The granular substances lined up along the external face of the postacrosomal sheath immediately after the detachment of the sperm plasma membrane, but before the complete degradation of the periodic substructure. These structural changes were completed before sperm nuclear decondensation started. The region where the granular structures were visualized was close to that of the antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody MN13, which is supposed to be involved in the association of the periodic substructure with the overlaying plasma membrane (Toshimor et al., 1991). Based upon these results, we present the progress of events at the initial stage of gamete interaction.
Department of Anatomy, Miyazaki Medical College, Japan.
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D000177:Acrosome / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions