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Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx

Mammalian spermatozoa are coated with a thick glycocalyx that is assembled during sperm development, maturation, and upon contact with seminal fluid. The sperm glycocalyx is critical for sperm survival in the female reproductive tract and is modified during capacitation. The complex interplay among...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tecle, Eillen, Gagneux, Pascal
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4744710/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26061344
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.22500
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author Tecle, Eillen
Gagneux, Pascal
author_facet Tecle, Eillen
Gagneux, Pascal
author_sort Tecle, Eillen
collection PubMed
description Mammalian spermatozoa are coated with a thick glycocalyx that is assembled during sperm development, maturation, and upon contact with seminal fluid. The sperm glycocalyx is critical for sperm survival in the female reproductive tract and is modified during capacitation. The complex interplay among the various glycoconjugates generates numerous signaling motifs that may regulate sperm function and, as a result, fertility. Nascent spermatozoa assemble their own glycans while the cells still possess a functional endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi in the seminiferous tubule, but once spermatogenesis is complete, they lose the capacity to produce glycoconjugates de novo. Sperm glycans continue to be modified, during epididymal transit by extracellular glycosidases and glycosyltransferases. Furthermore, epididymal cells secrete glycoconjugates (glycophosphatidylinositol‐anchored glycoproteins and glycolipids) and glycan‐rich microvesicles that can fuse with the maturing sperm membrane. The sperm glycocalyx mediates numerous functions in the female reproductive tract, including the following: inhibition of premature capacitation; passage through the cervical mucus; protection from innate and adaptive female immunity; formation of the sperm reservoir; and masking sperm proteins involved in fertilization. The immense diversity in sperm‐associated glycans within and between species forms a remarkable challenge to our understanding of essential sperm glycan functions. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 82: 635–650, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Reproduction and Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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spelling pubmed-47447102016-02-18 Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx Tecle, Eillen Gagneux, Pascal Mol Reprod Dev Review Articles Mammalian spermatozoa are coated with a thick glycocalyx that is assembled during sperm development, maturation, and upon contact with seminal fluid. The sperm glycocalyx is critical for sperm survival in the female reproductive tract and is modified during capacitation. The complex interplay among the various glycoconjugates generates numerous signaling motifs that may regulate sperm function and, as a result, fertility. Nascent spermatozoa assemble their own glycans while the cells still possess a functional endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi in the seminiferous tubule, but once spermatogenesis is complete, they lose the capacity to produce glycoconjugates de novo. Sperm glycans continue to be modified, during epididymal transit by extracellular glycosidases and glycosyltransferases. Furthermore, epididymal cells secrete glycoconjugates (glycophosphatidylinositol‐anchored glycoproteins and glycolipids) and glycan‐rich microvesicles that can fuse with the maturing sperm membrane. The sperm glycocalyx mediates numerous functions in the female reproductive tract, including the following: inhibition of premature capacitation; passage through the cervical mucus; protection from innate and adaptive female immunity; formation of the sperm reservoir; and masking sperm proteins involved in fertilization. The immense diversity in sperm‐associated glycans within and between species forms a remarkable challenge to our understanding of essential sperm glycan functions. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 82: 635–650, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Reproduction and Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2015-06-09 2015-09 /pmc/articles/PMC4744710/ /pubmed/26061344 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.22500 Text en © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Reproduction and Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Review Articles
Tecle, Eillen
Gagneux, Pascal
Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title_full Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title_fullStr Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title_full_unstemmed Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title_short Sugar‐coated sperm: Unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
title_sort sugar‐coated sperm: unraveling the functions of the mammalian sperm glycocalyx
topic Review Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4744710/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26061344
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.22500
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