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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Recording Electrical Currents across the Plasma Membrane of Mammalian Sperm Cells
Published on: February 14, 2021
Ion channels that control fertility in mammalian spermatozoa
Betsy Navarro1, Yuriy Kirichok, Jean-Ju Chung
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Enders 1309, Children's Hospital Boston, 320 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Whole-cell voltage clamp of mammalian spermatozoa was first achieved in 2006. This technical advance, combined with genetic deletion strategies, makes unambiguous identification of sperm ion channel currents possible. This review summarizes the ion channel currents that have been directly measured in mammalian sperm, and their physiological roles in fertilization. The predominant currents are a Ca2+-selective current requiring expression of the 4 mCatSper genes, and a rectifying K+ current with properties most similar to mSlo3. Intracellular alkalinization activates both channels and induces hyperactivated motility.
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