title: Induction of sperm maturation in vitro in epididymal cell cultures of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii): disruption of motility initiation and sperm morphogenesis by inhibition of actin polymerization.
abstract: A sperm-epididymal cell co-culture was shown to be capable of inducing the in vitro maturation of spermatozoa from a marsupial species, the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). This system was able to maintain wallaby epididymal epithelial cells in vitro for more than 2 months. The system also enabled immature wallaby spermatozoa to differentiate from a T-shaped to a streamlined form, accompanied by the development of progressive motility after co-culture with epididymal cell monolayers that had been cultured for 7 days. The addition of inhibitors of actin polymerization (latrunculin A or B) to the co-culture system showed that wallaby sperm maturation was impaired by the interruption of actin organization within the immature spermatozoa. These results indicate that actin filaments play a significant role in sperm transformation during post-testicular maturation in marsupials. These observations also indicate that the marsupial co-culture system has the potential to greatly increase understanding of sperm-epididymal cell interactions and the mechanism of sperm maturation in these species.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Research Centre for Conservation and Management of Marsupials, Discipline of Biological Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Aitken
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic / Q000494:pharmacology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004822:Epididymis / Q000166:cytology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000502:physiology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007614:Macropodidae / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011108:Polymers; D013079:Sperm Maturation; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D053778:Thiazolidines
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; D011108:Polymers; D013844:Thiazoles; D053778:Thiazolidines; C037068:latrunculin B; C037067:latrunculin A