Jeulin C, Soufir J C, Marson J, Paquignon M, Dacheux J L
Laboratoire d'Histologie, C.H.U. Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.
Reprod Nutr Dev (1980). 1988;28(5):1317-27.
The level of carnitine and acetylcarnitine in spermatozoa of boar epididymal origin and of human ejaculates was demonstrated. In the epididymal fluid of boars, the concentration of carnitine (nmol/mg protein) began to increase from 20 in the distal caput to rise progressively to 700 in the distal cauda. By contrast, the carnitine content of spermatozoa only started to increase in the proximal cauda where the concentration of carnitine in the fluid was 200-300 nmol/mg protein, then gradually increased in spermatozoa from more distal sites. The increase in the acetylcarnitine content of spermatozoa paralleled that of the carnitine amount, represented 50% of total carnitine (carnitine + acetylcarnitine) and coincided with the acquisition of progressive motility. In two populations of human seminal spermatozoa selected by migration and characterised by a very large difference in their percentage of progressively motile cells, higher carnitine and acetylcarnitine contents (40%) were found in migrated spermatozoa compared to the residual population. These results suggest that accumulation of carnitine and its metabolite may be an important factor in the acquisition and the maintenance of progressive motility. Measurement of acetylcarnitine content of human seminal spermatozoa could be used as a marker of epididymal maturation.
测定了公猪附睾来源精子及人类射精精子中肉碱和乙酰肉碱的水平。在公猪附睾液中，肉碱浓度（nmol/mg蛋白质）从近侧附睾头的20开始升高，在附睾尾远侧逐渐升至700。相比之下，精子中的肉碱含量仅在附睾尾近侧开始增加，此时液体中的肉碱浓度为200 - 300 nmol/mg蛋白质，随后精子中来自更远端部位的肉碱含量逐渐增加。精子中乙酰肉碱含量的增加与肉碱含量的增加平行，占总肉碱（肉碱 + 乙酰肉碱）的50%，并与获得前进运动能力同时发生。在通过迁移选择的、具有前进运动细胞百分比差异极大的两个人类精液精子群体中，与剩余群体相比，迁移精子中发现了更高的肉碱和乙酰肉碱含量（高40%）。这些结果表明，肉碱及其代谢产物的积累可能是获得和维持前进运动能力的一个重要因素。测定人类精液精子中的乙酰肉碱含量可作为附睾成熟的一个标志物。
