Respiration and Oxidative Phosphorylation 

 in Relation to Sperm Motility 



PIERRE H. GONSE* 



Johnson Foundation for Medical Physics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 

 Pennsylvania 



Few isolated cells are as intriguing as the spermatozoon. By its 

 vital function, peculiar anatomy, capacity for motility, limited abil- 

 ity for independent survival, this cell, derived from body tissues, 

 appeals greatly to the biological chemist. 



The investigator would like to know to what extent this speciali- 

 zation is paralleled by a modification in metabolism; whether the 

 same enzymes, in analogous proportions or concentrations and with 

 comparable activities, are present in both the tissues and sperma- 

 tozoa of a given animal. Respiratory enzymes appear particularly 

 well suited for such a study when one bears in mind the classical dif- 

 ference between spermatozoa of mammals and those of marine in- 

 vertebrates. The latter rely for their activity on oxidative phos- 

 phorylation, a pattern fifteen times more favorable in terms of energy 

 yield than the glycolytic pathway preferentially adopted by many 

 mammalian spermatozoa. This difference has often been compared 

 with the contrasting ecological conditions accompanying external 

 and internal fertilization. The spermatozoa from marine animals, 

 impermeable to or unable to utilize sugars and thus relying on inter- 

 nal metabolites, are released into a non-nutrient aerobic medium, 

 sea water, whereas, the spermatozoa of mammals may be found in an 

 environment rich in substrates, but possibly anaerobic. The sig- 

 nificance of this situation needs clarification especially in view of the 

 fact that low oxygen tension apparently can support a normal rate 

 of respiration in mammalian spermatozoa. 



* Present address: Centre de Recherches de l'Air Liquide, 115 Av. Lacassagne, 

 Lyon, France. 



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