Urner F, Sakkas D
Clinic of Sterility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Geneva, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland.
Biol Reprod. 1999 Mar;60(3):733-9. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod60.3.733.
Glucose metabolism is essential for successful gamete fusion in the mouse. Although the metabolic activity of the oocyte does not appear to play a significant role in the fusion step, the metabolic role of the spermatozoon is not known. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize the role of glucose metabolism in mouse spermatozoa. Initially, the high-affinity glucose transporter GLUT3 was identified in mouse sperm. In characterizing the glucose metabolism of mouse sperm, we have shown 1) that mouse epididymal spermatozoa have a functional pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), implying that they produce NADPH, which is required for reducing reactions, and ribose 5-phosphate, which is required for nucleic acid synthesis; and 2) that sperm are able to fuse with the oocyte when NADPH is substituted for glucose, suggesting that sperm need to produce NADPH via the PPP in order to be able to achieve fertilization. The existence of an NADPH-regulated event that influences the ability of the sperm to fuse with the oocyte is envisaged.
葡萄糖代谢对于小鼠配子成功融合至关重要。虽然卵母细胞的代谢活性在融合步骤中似乎未发挥重要作用，但精子的代谢作用尚不清楚。因此，本研究的目的是阐明葡萄糖代谢在小鼠精子中的作用。最初，在小鼠精子中鉴定出高亲和力葡萄糖转运蛋白GLUT3。在表征小鼠精子的葡萄糖代谢时，我们发现：1）小鼠附睾精子具有功能性磷酸戊糖途径（PPP），这意味着它们能产生还原反应所需的NADPH以及核酸合成所需的5-磷酸核糖；2）当用NADPH替代葡萄糖时，精子能够与卵母细胞融合，这表明精子需要通过PPP产生NADPH才能实现受精。我们设想存在一种受NADPH调节的事件，它会影响精子与卵母细胞融合的能力。
