title: Adenosine in sperm physiology.
abstract: It has long been known that ATP and cAMP are deeply involved in sperm function whereas the role of adenosine and adenosine receptors is still far from being totally construed. The presence of adenosine in male reproductive tract and adenosine receptors on spermatozoa is strongly suggestive of a functional role of these receptors in sperm physiology and function. Spermatozoa are highly differentiated cells with fertility as the only goal. This paper, by an extensive review of the literature, outlines our current understanding of the role and effects of adenosine and adenosine receptors in spermatogenesis and in the acquisition of sperm fertilizing capacity which occurs in the femal genital tract, where the motile sperm fertilize an egg to form a zygote.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università di Perugia, Polo Unico Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, Piazzale Gambuli, 06132 Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bellezza
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università di Perugia, Polo Unico Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, Piazzale Gambuli, 06132 Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: alba.minelli@unipg.it.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minelli
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000235:genetics*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics*; D005306:Fertilization / Q000235:genetics*; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D000241:Adenosine
keywords: Acrosome reaction; Adenosine receptors; Capacitation; Epididymal maturation; Spermatogenesis