Membrane hyperpolarization abolishes calcium oscillations that prevent induced acrosomal exocytosis in human sperm.

Sperm capacitation is essential to gain fertilizing capacity. During this process, a series of biochemical and physiological modifications occur that allow sperm to undergo acrosomal exocytosis (AE). At the molecular level, hyperpolarization of the sperm membrane potential (Em) takes place during capacitation. This study shows that human sperm incubated under conditions that do not support capacitation (NC) can become ready for an agonist stimulated AE by pharmacologically inducing Em hyperpolarization with Valinomycin or Amiloride. To investigate how Em hyperpolarization promotes human sperm's ability to undergo AE, live single-cell imaging experiments were performed to simultaneously monitor changes in [Ca2+ ]i and the occurrence of AE. Em hyperpolarization turned [Ca2+ ]i dynamics in NC sperm from spontaneously oscillating into a sustained slow [Ca2+ ]i increase. The addition of progesterone (P4) or K+ to Valinomycin-treated sperm promoted that a significant number of cells displayed a transitory rise in [Ca2+ ]i which then underwent AE. Altogether, our results demonstrate that Em hyperpolarization is necessary and sufficient to prepare human sperm for the AE. Furthermore, this Em change decreased Ca2+ oscillations that block the occurrence of AE, providing strong experimental evidence of the molecular mechanism that drives the acquisition of acrosomal responsiveness.

Seeing is believing: Current methods to observe sperm acrosomal exocytosis in real time.

Acrosomal exocytosis (AR) is a critical process that sperm need to undergo to fertilize an egg. The evaluation of the presence or absence of the acrosome is usually performed by using lectins or dyes in fixed cells. With this approach, it is neither possible to monitor the dynamic process of exocytosis and related molecular events while discriminating between live and dead cells, nor to evaluate the acrosomal status while sperm reside in the female reproductive tract. However, over the last two decades, several new methodologies have been used to assess the occurrence of AR in living cells allowing different groups to obtain information that was not possible in the past. These techniques have revolutionized the whole study of this process. This review summarizes current methods available to analyze AR in living cells as well as the important information that emerged from studies using these approaches.

Super-resolution imaging of live sperm reveals dynamic changes of the actin cytoskeleton during acrosomal exocytosis.

Filamentous actin (F-actin) is a key factor in exocytosis in many cell types. In mammalian sperm, acrosomal exocytosis (denoted the acrosome reaction or AR), a special type of controlled secretion, is regulated by multiple signaling pathways and the actin cytoskeleton. However, the dynamic changes of the actin cytoskeleton in live sperm are largely not understood. Here, we used the powerful properties of SiR-actin to examine actin dynamics in live mouse sperm at the onset of the AR. By using a combination of super-resolution microscopy techniques to image sperm loaded with SiR-actin or sperm from transgenic mice containing Lifeact-EGFP, six regions containing F-actin within the sperm head were revealed. The proportion of sperm possessing these structures changed upon capacitation. By performing live-cell imaging experiments, we report that dynamic changes of F-actin during the AR occur in specific regions of the sperm head. While certain F-actin regions undergo depolymerization prior to the initiation of the AR, others remain unaltered or are lost after exocytosis occurs. Our work emphasizes the utility of live-cell nanoscopy, which will undoubtedly impact the search for mechanisms that underlie basic sperm functions.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Role of Ion Channels in the Sperm Acrosome Reaction.

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 Ca(2+) 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 Ca(2+) channels and voltage-dependent Ca(2+) 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.

A Specific Transitory Increase in Intracellular Calcium Induced by Progesterone Promotes Acrosomal Exocytosis in Mouse Sperm.

During capacitation, sperm acquire the ability to undergo the acrosome reaction (AR), an essential step in fertilization. Progesterone produced by cumulus cells has been associated with various physiological processes in sperm, including stimulation of AR. An increase in intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]i) is necessary for AR to occur. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal correlation between the changes in [Ca(2+)]i and AR in single mouse spermatozoa in response to progesterone. We found that progesterone stimulates an [Ca(2+)]i increase in five different patterns: gradual increase, oscillatory, late transitory, immediate transitory, and sustained. We also observed that the [Ca(2+)]i increase promoted by progesterone starts at either the flagellum or the head. We validated the use of FM4-64 as an indicator for the occurrence of the AR by simultaneously detecting its fluorescence increase and the loss of EGFP in transgenic EGFPAcr sperm. For the first time, we have simultaneously visualized the rise in [Ca(2+)]i and the process of exocytosis in response to progesterone and found that only a specific transitory increase in [Ca(2+)]i originating in the sperm head promotes the initiation of AR.