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A Model for the Acrosome Reaction in Mammalian Sperm

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Abstract

The acrosome reaction is a complex, calcium-dependent reaction that results in an exocytotic event required for successful fertilization of the egg. It has long been thought that the acrosome reaction occurs upon sperm binding to the zona pellucida, a viscoelastic layer surrounding the oocyte. Recent studies have suggested that the reaction may even occur before the sperm encounters the zona, perhaps mediated by progesterone or some other agonist. It has been particularly difficult to understand differences between progesterone-induced and zona-induced reactions experimentally and whether one substance is the more biologically relevant trigger. Until this present work, there has been little effort to mathematically model the acrosome reaction in sperm as a whole. Instead, attention has been paid to modeling portions of the pathways involved in other cell types. Here we present a base model for the acrosome reaction which characterizes the known biochemical reactions and behaviors of the system. Our model allows us to analyze several pathways that may act as a stabilizing mechanism for avoiding sustained oscillatory calcium responses often observed in other cell types. Such an oscillatory regime might otherwise prevent acrosomal exocytosis and therefore inhibit fertilization. Results indicate that the acrosome reaction may rely upon multiple redundant mechanisms to avoid entering an oscillatory state and instead maintain a high resting level of calcium, known to be required for successful acrosomal exocytosis and, ultimately, fertilization of the oocyte.

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Acknowledgements

The work of JS and LF was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation Grant DMS-1043626. The authors would like to thank Ricardo Cortez for many useful discussions and James Sneyd for his suggestions and insight.

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  1. Department of Sciences and Mathematics, California Maritime Academy, 200 Maritime Academy Dr., Vallejo, CA, 95490-8181, USA

    Julie Simons

  2. Department of Mathematics and Center for Computational Science, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    Lisa Fauci

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Correspondence to Julie Simons.

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This project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation Grant DMS-104626.

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Simons, J., Fauci, L. A Model for the Acrosome Reaction in Mammalian Sperm. Bull Math Biol 80, 2481–2501 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-018-0478-3

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