A redox-regulated tyrosine phosphorylation cascade in rat spermatozoa

Rat spermatozoa from both the caput and cauda epididymidis were shown to generate superoxide anion (O2-.) both spontaneously and following stimulation with NAD(P)H. Caput spermatozoa gave a significantly greater O2- response to NADPH stimulation than caudal cells, whereas in both cell types the responses to exogenous NADPH and NADH were approximately equivalent. Analysis of H2O2 production revealed that this oxidant was generated only by caudal epididymal cells and only in these cells did the stimulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production with NADPH lead to an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. Stimulation of ROS production with NADPH increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels in both caput and caudal epididymal cells, but only in caudal cells did cAMP stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation, in keeping with the NADPH results. On the basis of these findings we propose that tyrosine phosphorylation in rat spermatozoa is driven by ROS acting via 2 different but complementary mechanisms; O2-. stimulates tyrosine kinase activity indirectly through the elevation of intracellular cAMP while H2O2 acts directly on the kinase/phosphatase system, stimulating the former and inhibiting the latter. Zinc was examined as a potential regulator of this signal transduction cascade and was shown to suppress tyrosine phosphorylation in caput cells but to promote this activity in caudal spermatozoa, possibly through an inhibitory effect on tyrosine phosphatase activity. These results reveal the maturation of a redox-regulated, cAMP-mediated, signal transduction cascade during epididymal transit in the rat that is sensitive to zinc and plays a key role in the control of tyrosine phosphorylation events associated with capacitation.