Potassium Current in Mature Bovine Spermatozoa

Author(s)

Marconi, Marcelo ^{[1, 2]} ; Sanchez, Raul ^[1] ; Ulrich, Henning ^[3] ; Romero, Fernando ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ La Frontera, Fac Med, Dept Preclin Sci, Neurosci Lab, Ctr Reprod Biotechnol, Temuco - Chile

^[2] Inst Anat & Zellbiol, Giessen - Germany

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SYSTEMS BIOLOGY IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; v. 54, n. 6, p. 231-239, 2008.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Ion channels have been assigned a pivotal importance in various sperm functions and are therefore promising targets for contraceptive development. The lack of data on channel functionality and pharmacology has hampered this goal. This is a consequence of technical problems of applying electrophysiological techniques to spermatozoa due to their small size and form. By using a laminin coating to increase adherence of spermatozoa and nystatin in the patch pipette for pore formation, we have adapted the whole-cell recording technique to study currents in mature uncapacitated bovine spermatozoa. Employing these conditions, in the head region, patched spermatozoa could be transferred into the whole-cell configuration. For the first time we document an outward rectifying current in mature bovine spermatozoa was blocked by tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) chloride. The observation of a shift in the reversal potential as a response to changes in the extracellular concentration of K+ ions allowed us to identify this current as K+ selective. This result shows that K+ channels in the head region of mature uncapacitated bovine spermatozoa can be suitably investigated using the whole-cell recording patch-clamp technique. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 06/61285-9 - Molecular basis of differentiation of stem and neural progenitor cells
• Grantee: Alexander Henning Ulrich
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants