Biomaterial Database

Alteration in surface charge of chimpanzee sperm during epididymal transit and at ejaculation. 1984

K G Gould, and L G Young, and B T Hinton

To further investigate changes in the sperm surface occurring during epididymal transit and after ejaculation, the surface negative charge on the head of chimpanzee sperm recovered from the caput (n = 4) and cauda epididymis (n = 3) and from the ejaculate (n = 4) was measured. Washed sperm were exposed to colloidal iron at pH 1.6, washed, mounted on carbon plates, and examined in a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. This technique permits evaluation of individual sperm in a population and provides information not available when the entire population is measured as a whole. The results demonstrate a net increase in negative charge during epididymal transit and after ejaculation and a change in charge distribution within the population from a unimodal to a tetra modal distribution. Caput sperm showed a unimodal distribution with a mode of 20 +/- 2%. Cauda sperm showed three modes at 23 +/- 1, 34 +/- 3, and 41 +/- 3%. Ejaculated sperm showed four modes at 21 +/- 3, 31 +/- 4, and 40 +/- 2, and 46 +/- 2%. The sperm population in the chimpanzee epididymis and ejaculate is not homogeneous, and this technique will aid in future measurement of fertility of subpopulations of sperm in the ejaculate.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D002679	Pan troglodytes	The common chimpanzee, a species of the genus Pan, family HOMINIDAE. It lives in Africa, primarily in the tropical rainforests. There are a number of recognized subspecies.	Chimpanzee,Chimpanzee troglodytes,Chimpanzee troglodyte,Chimpanzees,Pan troglodyte,troglodyte, Pan,troglodytes, Chimpanzee
D004542	Ejaculation	The emission of SEMEN to the exterior, resulting from the contraction of muscles surrounding the male internal urogenital ducts.	Ejaculations
D004594	Electrophysiology	The study of the generation and behavior of electrical charges in living organisms particularly the nervous system and the effects of electricity on living organisms.
D004822	Epididymis	The convoluted cordlike structure attached to the posterior of the TESTIS. Epididymis consists of the head (caput), the body (corpus), and the tail (cauda). A network of ducts leaving the testis joins into a common epididymal tubule proper which provides the transport, storage, and maturation of SPERMATOZOA.
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013077	Sperm Head	The anterior portion of the spermatozoon (SPERMATOZOA) that contains mainly the nucleus with highly compact CHROMATIN material.	Head, Sperm,Heads, Sperm,Sperm Heads
D013081	Sperm Motility	Movement characteristics of SPERMATOZOA in a fresh specimen. It is measured as the percentage of sperms that are moving, and as the percentage of sperms with productive flagellar motion such as rapid, linear, and forward progression.	Motilities, Sperm,Motility, Sperm,Sperm Motilities
D013094	Spermatozoa	Mature male germ cells derived from SPERMATIDS. As spermatids move toward the lumen of the SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES, they undergo extensive structural changes including the loss of cytoplasm, condensation of CHROMATIN into the SPERM HEAD, formation of the ACROSOME cap, the SPERM MIDPIECE and the SPERM TAIL that provides motility.	Sperm,Spermatozoon,X-Bearing Sperm,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperm,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Sperm, X-Bearing,Sperm, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, X-Bearing,Sperms, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,X Bearing Sperm,X Chromosome Bearing Sperm,X-Bearing Sperms,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms,Y Bearing Sperm,Y Chromosome Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperms,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms
D013499	Surface Properties	Characteristics or attributes of the outer boundaries of objects, including molecules.	Properties, Surface,Property, Surface,Surface Property