Analysis Tools
reproductive system
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• sperm flagella are devoid of any normal flagellar bend in the midpiece with a characteristic flagellar bend restricted only to the end piece
• however, the axoneme, axonemal appendages, and all 9 outer dense fibers (ODFs) remain intact
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• the intervening space that is immediately peripheral to the ODFs and delimited by the mitochondrial sheath in the midpiece appears to be expanded
• the submitochondrial reticulum (SMR), an electron-dense lattice of interconnected longitudinal bands that is attached to the overlying mitochondrial sheath, appears disorganized or reduced
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• variable expansion of the space between ODFs and ribs of the fibrous sheath (FS) are observed
• frequent breaks in the ribs joining longitudinal columns of the FS are also observed
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• the mean litter sizes sired by mutant males is reduced to 2.23 pups per litter compared to the 5.2 pups per litter sired by wild-type males
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• there is about a 3-fold reduction in the number of litters per month sired by mutant males
• male fertility decreases with age
• 4 out of 5 males sire litters at least once during the first month of breeding but all males are unable to sire litters by the fourth month of breeding
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• mutant sperm exhibit over-consumption of intracellular ATP levels as measured by a luciferase bioluminescence assay
• at 0.25 hrs of incubation in M16 medium, ATP levels in mutant sperm are 75.8% of those in wild-type sperm
• after 1.5 and 3 hrs in M16 medium, ATP levels are >10-fold and >20-fold lower, respectively, than those of wild-type sperm, suggesting over-consumption of intracellular energy stores caused by ineffective flagellar beating
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• only 35.6% of spermatozoa are motile in the cauda of 8 week old males compared to 82.3% in wild-type males
• only 22.7% of spermatozoa from 5 month old mice are motile
• there is reduced straight line velocity (VSL) of the few spermatozoa that are motile with mutant spermatozoa having a mean VSL of 11.61 micometers/second compared to wild-type spermatozoa VSL of 52.12 micometers/second
• there is a 87% reduction in the motility of spermatozoa cultured for 3 hours compared to 20% motility in wild-type spermatozoa
• distortions in flagellar movement lead to stalling or slow circular trajectories
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cellular
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• sperm flagella are devoid of any normal flagellar bend in the midpiece with a characteristic flagellar bend restricted only to the end piece
• however, the axoneme, axonemal appendages, and all 9 outer dense fibers (ODFs) remain intact
|
|
|
• the intervening space that is immediately peripheral to the ODFs and delimited by the mitochondrial sheath in the midpiece appears to be expanded
• the submitochondrial reticulum (SMR), an electron-dense lattice of interconnected longitudinal bands that is attached to the overlying mitochondrial sheath, appears disorganized or reduced
|
|
|
• variable expansion of the space between ODFs and ribs of the fibrous sheath (FS) are observed
• frequent breaks in the ribs joining longitudinal columns of the FS are also observed
|
|
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• only 35.6% of spermatozoa are motile in the cauda of 8 week old males compared to 82.3% in wild-type males
• only 22.7% of spermatozoa from 5 month old mice are motile
• there is reduced straight line velocity (VSL) of the few spermatozoa that are motile with mutant spermatozoa having a mean VSL of 11.61 micometers/second compared to wild-type spermatozoa VSL of 52.12 micometers/second
• there is a 87% reduction in the motility of spermatozoa cultured for 3 hours compared to 20% motility in wild-type spermatozoa
• distortions in flagellar movement lead to stalling or slow circular trajectories
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