The soluble sperm oscillogen hypothesis

It is now accepted that sperm trigger deuterostome egg activation by causing an increase in egg cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels (Jaffe, 1983; Whitaker & Swann, 1993). This increase generally takes the form of a single wave of Ca2+ release that crosses the egg from the point of sperm-egg interaction (Jaf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygote (Cambridge) 1993-11, Vol.1 (4), p.273-276
Main Author: Swann, Karl
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Calcium - metabolism
Female
In Vitro Techniques
Male
Models, Biological
Ovum - metabolism
Proteins - physiology
Signal Transduction
Solubility
Sperm-Ovum Interactions - physiology
Spermatozoa - physiology
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Summary:It is now accepted that sperm trigger deuterostome egg activation by causing an increase in egg cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels (Jaffe, 1983; Whitaker & Swann, 1993). This increase generally takes the form of a single wave of Ca2+ release that crosses the egg from the point of sperm-egg interaction (Jaffe, 1983)eggs Ca2+ waves occur repetitively and soon turn into synchronous pulses, or homogeneous oscillations, that last for hours after sperm-egg fusion (Miyazaki et al., 1993b; Homa et al., 1993). Despite their extensive characterisation it is still not established how sperm trigger these Ca2+ changes in eggs. The signal transduction mechanism is missing. There is a proliferation of overlapping and complex schemes for how the sperm may initiate Ca2+ release (Miyazaki et al., 1993b;Whitaker & Swann, 1993). Here, my aim is to present one simple scheme in its generic form. The brevity of this essay restricts citations and necessitates using reviews to reference original work.
ISSN:0967-1994
1469-8730
DOI:10.1017/S0967199400001581