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Updated: May 16, 2026

Medium-throughput Screening Assays for Assessment of Effects on Ca2+-Signaling and Acrosome Reaction in Human Sperm
Published on: March 1, 2019
Ca(2+) mobilization in cumulus cells: role in oocyte maturation and acrosome reaction
Hui Chen1, Christopher Kui, Hsiao Chang Chan
1Epithelial Cell Biology Research Center, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.
Abstract:
The cumulus mass is a group of cells surrounding the oocyte. Cumulus cells are known to play a role in a number of reproductive events including oocyte maturation and acrosome reaction. Calcium mobilization in cumulus cells has been implicated in the process of oocyte maturation and acrosome reaction; however, its exact role remains elusive. In this review, we summarize the findings on Ca(2+) mobilization in cumulus cells, with particular focus on (1) the gonadotropin/paracrine factors-induced cumulus Ca(2+) mobilization and its downstream signaling pathways in oocyte maturation and (2) the sperm-derived factors-induced cumulus Ca(2+) mobilization in the cross-talk between cumulus and sperm and thus acrosome reaction. The evidence suggests that as an important signaling event, Ca(2+) mobilization in cumulus cells is important to germ cell development and function, and thus essential to fertilization and reproduction.
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