Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on May 28, 2004
Molecular Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/molehr/gah075
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, D-35385 Giessen, Germany
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: 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
Revised May 10, 2004
Accepted May 12, 2004
Article
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
2 Department of Dermatology and Andrology, Justus Liebig University, D-35385 Giessen, Germany
3 Institute for Plant Ecology, Justus Liebig University, D-35385 Giessen, Germany
4 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, D-35037 Marburg, Germany
5 Department of Dermatology, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract 
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.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. Girouard, G. Frenette, and R. Sullivan Compartmentalization of Proteins in Epididymosomes Coordinates the Association of Epididymal Proteins with the Different Functional Structures of Bovine Spermatozoa Biol Reprod, May 1, 2009; 80(5): 965 - 972. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Thimon, G. Frenette, F. Saez, M. Thabet, and R. Sullivan Protein composition of human epididymosomes collected during surgical vasectomy reversal: a proteomic and genomic approach Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1698 - 1707. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Frenette, J. Girouard, and R. Sullivan Comparison Between Epididymosomes Collected in the Intraluminal Compartment of the Bovine Caput and Cauda Epididymidis Biol Reprod, December 1, 2006; 75(6): 885 - 890. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Frenette, C. Legare, F. Saez, and R. Sullivan Macrophage migration inhibitory factor in the human epididymis and semen Mol. Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2005; 11(8): 575 - 582. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|