Thermotaxis of human sperm cells in extraordinarily shallow temperature gradients over a wide range

On the basis of the finding that capacitated (ready to fertilize) rabbit and human spermatozoa swim towards warmer temperatures by directing their movement along a temperature gradient, sperm thermotaxis has been proposed to be one of the processes guiding these spermatozoa to the fertilization site. Although the molecular mechanism underlying sperm thermotaxis is gradually being revealed, basic questions related to this process are still open. Here, employing human spermatozoa, we addressed the questions of how wide the temperature range of thermotaxis is, whether this range includes an optimal temperature or whether spermatozoa generally prefer swimming towards warmer temperatures, whether or not they can sense and respond to descending temperature gradients, and what the minimal temperature gradient is to which they can thermotactically respond. We found that human spermatozoa can respond thermotactically within a wide temperature range (at least 29-41°C), that within this range they preferentially accumulate in warmer temperatures rather than at a single specific, preferred temperature, that they can respond to both ascending and descending temperature gradients, and that they can sense and thermotactically respond to temperature gradients as low as <0.014°C/mm. This temperature gradient is astonishingly low because it means that as a spermatozoon swims through its entire body length (46 µm) it can sense and respond to a temperature difference of <0.0006°C. The significance of this surprisingly high temperature sensitivity is discussed.