title: Progesterone effects on mouse sperm kinetics in conditions of viscosity.
abstract: The spermatozoa delivered to the female genital tract need to swim towards the oocyte through viscous secretions. Once close to the oocyte, the spermatozoa are guided by a gradient of progesterone (P4) and other unknown chemoattractants via a process known as chemotaxis. Using polyvinylpyrrolidone to establish the conditions of viscosity, we examined the response of mouse spermatozoa to P4 Herein, we show that in low-viscous media, P4 induces hyperactive-like motility whereby sperm show erratic trajectories and non-progressive movement. However, an opposite response is produced in viscous medium in that trajectories are linear and motility is more progressive and less erratic. Our observations provide a behavioural explanation for the chemotaxis of spermatozoa swimming under viscous conditions in a spatial gradient of the chemoattractant P4 They also highlight the importance of using viscous solutions to mimic in vivo conditions when analysing sperm behaviour in response to any stimulus.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción AnimalINIA, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain perez.serafin@inia.es.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pérez-Cerezales
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción AnimalINIA, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain Grupo de Investigación en BiogénesisUniversidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: López-Cardona
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción AnimalINIA, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Adán
mesh_terms: D020101:Acrosome Reaction; D000818:Animals; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011372:Progestins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*; D014783:Viscosity / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D011372:Progestins; D011374:Progesterone