Molecules that initiate or help stimulate the acrosome reaction by their interaction with the mammalian sperm surface.

This review deals with exogenous molecules that stimulate the acrosome reaction (AR) of mammalian sperm in vitro, presumably by acting at the sperm surface. Such molecules may exert their effect(s) by stimulating capacitation and/or by stimulation or initiation of the AR, and they are probably present at one of three putative in vivo sites (also discussed here) for the AR of a fertilizing sperm: the oviductal fluid, the cumulus oophorus matrix, and the zona pellucida. The molecules discussed include serum albumin, hydrolytic enzymes (particularly proteases); hormones including biogenic amines, estradiol, and arachidonic acid metabolites; sulfur-containing beta-amino acids; glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid; and a zona pellucida glycoprotein. Possible mechanisms to explain the effects of these molecules are also discussed. Several conclusions and suggestions are offered in this review: There is more than one site for the AR of a fertilizing sperm in vitro, depending on experimental conditions and species, but the site(s) at which the AR of a fertilizing sperm occur(s) in vivo is/are still a matter of disagreement; there are a number of molecules that can stimulate or initiate the AR in vitro, and such molecular duplication may also exist in vivo to ensure fertility; and synergistic interaction between some of those exogenous molecules may occur in the stimulation of capacitation and the stimulation or initiation of the AR.