Remodelling of Lipid Rafts during In vitro Capacitation and Acrosome Reaction of Ram Spermatozoa

Abstract

Background: Lipid rafts are often known as Detergent-Resistant Microdomains (DRMs). We report for the first time the presence of two lipid raft markers, caveolin-1 and ganglioside GM1, on the ram sperm surface, and the effect of in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction on these marker distributions, the protein content and lipid composition of DRM and non-DRM fractions.