Acrosome reaction in the head-attached human sperm

Abstract

The physiological acrosome reaction of the sperm occurs on the surface of the oocyte. Although its occurrence on the zona pellucida is considered to be a specific response to zona compounds, whether the simple attachment itself could influence the reaction of motile spermatozoa to a fixed surface and promote onset of the reaction is questioned. A motile human sperm head fixation method was developed recently, through which a group of head-attached sperm can be established easily. These head-attached sperm were investigated for their acrosome reactions. After staining by fluorescein iso-thiocyanate conjugated peanut lectin (FITC-PNA), many head-attached spermatozoa (75.7%) were found to have undergone an acrosome reaction.