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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Medium-throughput Screening Assays for Assessment of Effects on Ca2+-Signaling and Acrosome Reaction in Human Sperm
Published on: March 1, 2019
[Capacitation and acrosome reaction are associated with changes in sialic acid location and head morphometry in human
Paula Sáez-Espinosa1, Stéphanie Torrijo-Boix1, Natalia Huerta-Retamal1
1Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España.
Objective:
Assess changes in sialic acid distribution during capacitation and acrosome reaction processes, and evaluate head sperm morphometrics modifications in these physiological conditions in human sperm.
Material And Method:
In this prospective study, we included 6 normozoospermics sperm samples. Sialic acid distribution was evaluated by Wheat germ agglutinin lectin in different physiological conditions: before, after capacitation and after acrosome reaction. Head shape and size of each stage were analyzed by means of geometric morphometric methods.
Results:
After capacitation, 73.07±21.43% of sperm showed sialic acid in acrosomal region, linked with an acrosome expansion and equatorial segment contraction. Otherwise, after acrosome reaction higher allometric effect between stages was recorded since sperm undergo further expansion of equatorial segment. Regarding Wheat germ agglutinin location, we found that sperm percentage significant decline in acrosomal fluorescence and an increase of equatorial band labeling.
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate that modifications in Wheat germ agglutinin expression covariate with dramatic changes in sperm head morphometry, suggesting important implications in capacitation and acrosome reaction processes.
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