Akruk S R, Humphreys W J, Williams W L
Differentiation. 1979;13(2):125-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-0436.1979.tb01575.x.
Prior to fertilization mammalian spermatozoa undergo physiological changes in the female reproductive tract. These changes are collectively known as capacitation. In essence capacitation is a further differentiation that the sperm cell must acquire beyond the maturational changes that it undergoes in the epididymis. Although capacitation in vitro has been easily achieved in rodents, its accomplishment in the rabbit is inconsistent and difficult. We report here successful in vitro capacitation of ejaculated rabbit sperm, assessed by in vitro and in vivo fertilization of rabbit ova. Sperm were used from pooled ejaculates collected from bucks of proven fertility since sperm collected from individual bucks resulted in significant differences in fertilization levels. Conditions favoring in vitro capacitation were: (1) extended incubation time of 12 h, (2) addition of 20% heated rabbit serum to incubation medium, and (3) an atmosphere of 5% CO2, 8% O2, and 87% N2 during incubation. In vitro capacitation of sperm under these conditions resulted in 67% fertilization compared to 89% for control sperm capacitated for 13 h in the uterus.
在受精前，哺乳动物精子会在雌性生殖道内发生生理变化。这些变化统称为获能。本质上，获能是精子细胞在附睾中经历成熟变化后必须进一步获得的分化。尽管在啮齿动物中体外获能很容易实现，但在兔子中其实现并不一致且困难。我们在此报告通过兔卵的体外和体内受精评估，成功实现了射出的兔精子的体外获能。使用从经证实有生育能力的雄兔收集的混合射精精液中的精子，因为从个体雄兔收集的精子在受精水平上导致显著差异。有利于体外获能的条件是：（1）延长孵育时间至12小时，（2）向孵育培养基中添加20%加热的兔血清，以及（3）孵育期间5%二氧化碳、8%氧气和87%氮气的气氛。在这些条件下精子的体外获能导致67%的受精率，而在子宫中获能13小时的对照精子的受精率为89%。
