Presence and localization of the 60 KD calicin in human spermatozoa presenting postacrosomal sheath defects: preliminary results.

Using an indirect immunofluorescence technique, we studied the anticalicin antibody distribution in four teratozoospermic human sperm samples with a high rate of spermatozoa with incomplete postacrosomal sheath structure (PAS) detected at the ultrastructural level. The calicin distribution obtained in these samples is compared with the distribution obtained in two normal human sperm samples with a high proportion of normal PAS and in 3 human sperm samples without PAS ("round-headed syndrome"). In contrast to the homogeneous calicin distribution found in the majority of the normal group, similar to that reported by Longo et al. (J Cell Biol 105:1105-1120, 1987) and Paranko et al. (Differentiation 38:21-27, 1988), and the absence of calicin in the three non-PAS samples, we observed new patterns of calicin distribution in the four sperm samples studied. In the light of these preliminary results, the use of anticalicin antibody as a tool for human postacrosomal region evaluation is discussed.