Changes in the organization of the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane during spermatogenesis and epididymal maturation.

Ram, bull, and mouse sperm cells were stained with several fluorescent membrane probes. In contrast to nonspecific probes, merocyanine 540 (MC540), which displays preferential binding to loosely packed phospholipids in model membranes, was specifically localized to the anterior portion of the head and the midpiece of mature sperm. To establish when during development this distinctive staining pattern was acquired, germ cells from prepubescent and adult mouse testes as well as sperm from the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymides were isolated and examined. Localized staining with MC540 was not observed until sperm reached the corpus epididymidis, where those cells with a completely translocated (i.e., distally located) cytoplasmic droplet fluoresced. Likewise, when sperm were stained with fluoresceinated concanavalin A (fl-ConA), a localized pattern of fluorescence with lectin restricted to the anterior portion of the head was not observed until the corpus epididymidis was reached. However, in contrast to MC540 staining, only a fraction of sperm with completely translocated droplets exhibited this localized staining with fl-ConA, the remainder exhibiting diffuse fluorescence over the entire cell as seen on caput epididymal sperm. These developmental changes in staining patterns are specific to murine cells, since no change in the pattern of staining by either MC540 or fl-ConA was seen on epididymal sperm of the ram. These results are discussed with respect to: 1) species-to-species differences in sperm membrane features; and 2) the hypothesis that domains of loosely packed lipids may be involved in the regionalization of membrane proteins that occurs during sperm development.