Glycosidases interact differently with epididymal sperm

AGUILERA AC,; BOSCHIN V,; MICHAUT M, ; SARTOR T,; SOSA MA

CABA

Congreso; Primer congreso de la sociedad latinoamericana de reproducción animal, SOLARA; 2015

The mammalian spermatozoa undergo modifications during maturation in the epididymis to acquire their fertilizing capacity. In bulls, as in other mammals, many glycosidases (GLY) are secreted into the epididymal fluid. In this work we describe and characterize the interaction of some epididymal GLY with bull spermatozoa. We found that part of these enzymes can be released by mannose-6-phosphate. From these results, we explored the presence of mannose-6-phosphate receptors (MPRs) and found that both, the cation-independent (CI-MPR) and the cation-dependent MPR (CD-MPR) are present in the gamete and they are differently distributed on the sperm surface. In addition, beta-NAG and beta-Glu from epididymal fluid interact mostly with CI-MPR, while beta-Gal is recognized by both receptors. We concluded that GLY might become associated to the gametes during epididymal transit, as part of maturation process, either for activation of these enzymes or to be transported into the female reproductive tract and their participation in fertilization.