Sasanami Tomohiro, Matsuzaki Mei, Mizushima Shusei, Hiyama Gen
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan.
J Reprod Dev. 2013;59(4):334-8. doi: 10.1262/jrd.2013-038.
The ability to store sperm in the female genital tract is frequently observed in vertebrates as well as in invertebrates. Because of the presence of a system that maintains the ejaculated sperm alive in the female reproductive tract in a variety of animals, this strategy appears to be advantageous for animal reproduction. Although the occurrence and physiological reasons for sperm storage have been reported extensively in many species, the mechanism of sperm storage in the female reproductive tract has been poorly understood until recently. In avian species, the specialized simple tubular invaginations referred to as sperm storage tubules (SSTs) are found in the oviduct as a sperm storage organ. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the mechanism of sperm uptake into the SSTs, maintenance within it, and controlled release of the sperm from the SSTs. Since sperm storage in avian species occurs at high body temperatures (i.e., 41 C), elucidation of the mechanism for sperm storage may lead to the development of new strategies for sperm preservation at ambient temperatures, and these could be used in a myriad of applications in the field of reproduction.
在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中，经常观察到在雌性生殖道中储存精子的能力。由于存在一个能使射出的精子在多种动物的雌性生殖道中保持存活的系统，这种策略似乎对动物繁殖有利。尽管在许多物种中，精子储存的发生情况和生理原因已有广泛报道，但直到最近，雌性生殖道中精子储存的机制仍知之甚少。在鸟类中，作为精子储存器官的输卵管中存在一种称为精子储存小管（SSTs）的特殊简单管状内陷结构。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前对精子进入SSTs、在其中维持以及从SSTs中控制性释放机制的理解。由于鸟类的精子储存在较高体温（即41℃）下发生，阐明精子储存机制可能会促使开发出在环境温度下保存精子的新策略，这些策略可用于生殖领域的众多应用。
