Faculty Collaboration Database

Reactive oxygen species block sperm-egg fusion via oxidation of sperm sulfhydryl proteins in mice. Biol Reprod 1996 Nov;55(5):1063-8

Date

11/01/1996

Pubmed ID

8902218

DOI

10.1095/biolreprod55.5.1063

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0029908454 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   54 Citations

Abstract

The effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on mouse sperm-egg fusion were determined. Sperm were treated with superoxide and hydrogen peroxide generated by addition of xanthine oxidase (XO: 10-200 mlU/ml) to hypoxanthine (HX: 1 mM). While XO at concentrations higher than 100 mlU/ml decreased the motility and lipid peroxidation of sperm, XO at less than 50 mlU/ml had no such effect. However, 20-50 mlU/ml XO significantly suppressed sperm fusion with zona-free eggs. Two ROS scavengers, superoxide dismutase and catalase, attenuated the inhibition of sperm-egg fusion by HX-XO. The sulfhydryl (SH) reductant, dithiothreitol, also reversed the inhibition. The sperm SH-rich fusion-related proteins were highly sensitive to ROS. These results suggest that ROS at low concentrations may inhibit sperm-egg fusion via oxidation of the SH-proteins in the sperm membrane, without causing loss of motility.

Author List

Mammoto A, Masumoto N, Tahara M, Ikebuchi Y, Ohmichi M, Tasaka K, Miyake A

Author

Akiko Mammoto MD, PhD Associate Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Catalase
Dithiothreitol
Exocytosis
Female
Hydrogen Peroxide
Lipid Peroxidation
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred ICR
Oxidation-Reduction
Reactive Oxygen Species
Sperm Motility
Sperm-Ovum Interactions
Spermatozoa
Sulfhydryl Compounds
Superoxide Dismutase
Superoxides
Xanthine Oxidase