Abstract
The acrosome reaction (AR) is a unique exocytotic process where the acrosome, a single membrane-delimited specialized organelle, overlying the nucleus in the sperm head of many species, fuses with the overlying plasma membrane. This reaction, triggered by physiological inducers from the female gamete, its vicinity, or other stimuli, discharges the acrosomal content modifying the plasma membrane, incorporating the inner acrosomal membrane, and exposing it to the extracellular medium. The AR is essential for sperm–egg coat penetration, fusion with the eggs’ plasma membrane, and fertilization. As in most exocytotic processes Ca2+ is crucial for the AR, as well as intracellular pH and membrane potential changes. Thus, among the required processes needed for this reaction, ion permeability changes involving channels are pivotal. In spite of the key role ion channels play in the AR, their identity and regulation is not fully understood. Though molecular and pharmacological evidence indicates that various ionic channels participate during the AR, such as store-operated Ca2+ channels and voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, whole cell patch clamp recordings have failed to detect some of them until now. Since sperm display a very high resistance and a minute cytoplasmic volume, very few channels are needed to achieve large membrane potential and concentration changes. Functional detection of few channels in the morphologically complex and tiny sperm poses technical problems, especially when their conductance is very small, as in the case of SOCs. Single channel recordings and novel fluorescence microscopy strategies will help to define the participation of ionic channels in the intertwined signaling network that orchestrates the AR.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Shirley Ainsworth, Roberto Rodríguez, Arturo Ocádiz, Juan Manuel Hurtado, David Santiago, Paulina Torres-Rodríguez, and Jose Luis de la Vega-Beltrán for their excellent library, computer service, and technical assistance. This work was supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grants (NIH RO1 HD38082 to Pablo Visconti); the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (to CT); CONACyT-Mexico Fronteras de la Ciencia 71 to AD, CB, and CT; and DGAPA/UNAM (IN204112 to CB, IN203116 to CT and IN205516 to AD).
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Beltrán, C. et al. (2016). Role of Ion Channels in the Sperm Acrosome Reaction. In: Buffone, M. (eds) Sperm Acrosome Biogenesis and Function During Fertilization. Advances in Anatomy, Embryology and Cell Biology, vol 220. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30567-7_3
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