Survival of the fittest:

A sperm's journey to fertilization

Melanie Balbach
06-24-2019
 Frederic

Head Tail
 Frederic

Head Tail
 150 µm
50 µm

Human

Mouse
Fruit fly
5.8 cm

www.sciencennews.org
x 4-30 million

Susanna
 Susanna

20 cm

Frederic

50 µm
1.8 m
Finish

7.2 km

Start

Frederic Sun Yang

~ 30 min ~1h
?
Miki et al., 2013
Mission impossible?
nikonsmallworld.com
Raju et al., 2015
+ =
 _
bicarbonate (HCO3 )
 enzyme
bicarbonate

sAC +
soluble adenylate
cyclase product(s)

substrate
 bicarbonate

sAC cAMP
soluble adenylate
cyclase
ATP
bicarbonate
cAMP
sAC

ATP
cAMP
cAMP cAMP
 Capacitation

protein
sAC cAMP
kinase A

ATP

P P
P P
P P
P P
P P P
P
Glycolysis:
P P
Glucose P P
P P
P P
P P P
P
ATP
Pyruvate

Oxidative phosphorylation:

ATP
Glycolysis:
Glucose
cAMP
cAMP
ATP sAC cAMP
ATP ATP
Pyruvate
cAMP
Oxidative phosphorylation: cAMP
ATP
ATP ATP
ATP ATP
ATP
ATP
ATP
- bicarbonate + bicarbonate
 Rheotaxis
- flow + flow

Miki et al., 2013

 Rheotaxis
- flow + flow

Miki et al., 2013

 Chemotaxis

progesterone
gradient
Chemotaxis

Jikeli et al., 2015

Chemotaxis

Hamzeh et al., submitted

Zona pellucida
Zona pellucida
 ZP1
ZP2

ZP3
Familari et al., 2008
 ?

Zona pellucida
Ca2+
Ca2+ fluorimetry

[Ca2+]i F
 Acrosome reaction

+ Zona pellucida
sAC inhibition
contraception
as contraceptive

inhibitor

sAC cAMP

ATP
control inhibitor
 x
inhibitor

80
21 days:

pregnancies (%)
60

40

20

0
control inhibitor
Thank you for your attention