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Calcium And Metabolism In Sperm: Fundamental Players For Fertilization And Embryo Development, Felipe Navarrete

Doctoral Dissertations

Mammalian sperm acquire the fertilizing ability in the female tract in a process known as capacitation. At the molecular level, capacitation is associated with the up-regulation of a cAMP-dependent pathway, changes in intracellular pH, intracellular Ca²⁺, ATP consumption and an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. However, little is known about the function of Ca²⁺ and ATP during this important process. These signaling systems interact during capacitation are still not well understood. Results presented in this study indicate that Ca²⁺ ions have a biphasic role in the regulation of cAMP-dependent signaling. Sperm incubated in zero Ca²⁺ in …