Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: TRP

Title: Are TRP channels involved in sperm development and function?

Authors: Alberto Darszon, Claudia Sánchez-Cárdenas, Gerardo Orta, Ana A Sánchez-Tusie, Carmen Beltrán, Ignacio López-González, Gisela Granados-González, Claudia L Treviño

Journal, date & volume: Cell Tissue Res., 2012 Sep , 349, 749-64

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22580508

Abstract
Spermatozoa must translate information from their environment and the egg to achieve fertilization in sexually reproducing animals. These tasks require decoding a variety of signals in the form of intracellular Ca(2+) changes. As TRP channels constitute a large family of versatile multi-signal transducers, they are interesting subjects in which to explore their possible participation in sperm function. Here, we review the evidence for their presence and involvement in sperm motility, maturation, and the acrosome reaction, an exocytotic process required for sperm-egg fusion. Since store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) has been proposed to play an important role in these three functions, the main proteins responsible for this transport (STIM and ORAI) and their interaction with TRPs are also discussed. Improving our tools to solve infertility, improve animal breeding, and preserve biodiversity requires a better understanding of how Ca(2+) is regulated in spermatozoa.