Fusion of sperm with prostasomes: effects on membrane fluidity

Prostasomes are membranous vesicles (150-200 nm diameter) present in human semen. They are secreted by the prostate gland and contain large amounts of cholesterol, sphingomyelin, and Ca2+. In addition, some of their proteins are enzymes. Prostasomes enhance the motility of ejaculated sperm and are involved in a number of biological functions. In this work, we study the fusion of prostasomes to sperm by determining the relief of octadecylrhodamine self-quenching and the fluidity of membranes by measuring the fluorescence anisotropy of diphenylhexatriene. We present the following findings: (a) the contact of sperm cells with prostasomes at slightly acidic pH causes the fusion of the membranes; (b) the amount of transferred lipid depends on the prostasome/sperm ratio; (c) the fluidity of sperm is much higher than that of prostasomes; (d) the fusion changes some properties of sperm cells, such as fluidity, which decreases greatly; and (e) the extent of fluidity variations depends on the prostasome to sperm ratio. We propose that the H(+)-dependent fusion of prostasomes to sperm may have physiological consequences. In fact, this process can modify the lipid and protein pattern of sperm plasma membranes.