Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on May 28, 2004
Molecular Human Reproduction 2004 10(8):605-611; doi:10.1093/molehr/gah075
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Influence of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on the zinc content and redox state of protein-bound sulphydryl groups in rat sperm: indications for a new role of MIF in sperm maturation
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, 2Department of Dermatology and Andrology, 3Institute for Plant Ecology, Justus Liebig University, D-35385 Giessen, 4Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, D-35037 Marburg, Germany and 5Department of Dermatology, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
6 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Aulweg 123 D-35385 Giessen, Germany. Email: andreas.meinhardt{at}anatomie.med.uni-giessen.de
The function of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in sperm maturation was studied by investigating its role in the biochemical maturation of the outer dense fibres. Rat sperm obtained from the caput and cauda epididymis were stimulated overnight with either recombinant MIF or MIF-containing vesicles originating from epididymal fluid at various concentrations. The zinc content of both the sperm and the medium was determined by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. Incubation in both recombinant MIF and vesicular MIF resulted in a statistically significant decrease of the zinc content in stimulated caput sperm of 
50%. In parallel, the conditioned media showed a clear increase in the concentration of this trace metal. The effect of MIF was less marked in cauda sperm. In addition, we demonstrated a statistically significant increase of detectable free thiol groups in the sperm mid- and principle piece in isolated rat sperm after stimulation with MIF at concentrations of 25 and 50 ng/ml. Our data suggest that MIF plays an important role in the maturation process of rat sperm during epididymal transit by inducing the elimination of zinc and affecting the amount of free sulphydryl groups in the sperm flagella.
Key words: migration inhibitory factor/sperm/zinc
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