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Sperm Capacitation and Oocyte Maturation |
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AKAP1 mutant mouse oocytes show disrupted RIIa (green) translocation to mitochondria (red) at an early stage of maturation. DNA is blue. Katie Newhall conducted these studies as a graduate student in the lab. |
| Video of WT sperm before (HS) and after (BC) a 1-min exposure to 15 mM HCO3- | Video of Ca2 sperm before (HS) and after (BC) a after 1-min exposure to 15 mM HCO3-. |
Ca2 KO male mice are completely infertile, despite normal histology, sperm count, and mating behavior. Ca2 null sperm have unusual flagellar waveform. These sperm are unable to undergo bicarbonate-mediated capacitation. In vitro bicarb treatment in WT sperm increases the beat frequency 3 fold, but has no effect in null sperm. |
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