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Updated: Jul 21, 2026

Isolation and In vitro Activation of Caenorhabditis elegans Sperm
Published on: January 31, 2011
Activation of development in mammals: is there a role for a sperm cytosolic factor?
1Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA.
Abstract:
In mammalian oocytes, fertilization-associated calcium [Ca2+]i oscillations are responsible for the activation of development. The mechanism(s) by which the sperm triggers the initial [Ca2+]i rise and supports long-lasting oscillations is not resolved. It has been proposed that the sperm may interact with receptors in the oocyte's plasma membrane and engage intracellular signaling pathways that result in Ca2+ release. A different line of investigation suggests that upon sperm-oocyte fusion, a sperm cytosolic factor is released into the oocyte which interacts with unknown cytosolic targets, and generates [Ca2+]i oscillations. We will discuss the most recent evidence for both lines of thought and demonstrate that injections of sperm crude extracts (SF) into mammalian oocytes trigger [Ca2+]i oscillations that support in vitro parthenogenetic development to the blastocyst stage.
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