Spermatozoal response to osmotic stress.
The process of sperm cryopreservation imparts on sperm cells the stress of low-temperature and drastic osmotic change. Damage to the cell plasma membrane results in cell injury in a number of cellular structures and associated functions. Studies in the author's laboratory have focused upon the various mechanisms of osmotic and thermal injury including plasma membrane lipid structure, mitochondrial membrane potential, and intracellular signaling. We have determined that cryoinjury to sperm, as for somatic cells, is a multi-factorial event and some of these events are reversible while some are not.
Meyers
S A
SA
Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 98616, USA. smeyers@ucdavis.edu
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D008563:Membrane Lipids