Adenosine triphosphate-induced motility and sliding of filaments in mammalian sperm extracted with triton x-100

Abstract

Bull sperm that had been extracted with 0.2% Triton X-100 could be reactivated with ATP, and their movement closely resembled the motion of intact live sperm. Their motility required the presence of ATP, magnesium, and a medium of suitable salt concentration and pH. When Triton-extracted bull sperm were digested briefly with trypsin at pH 9.0, they appeared to retain most of their normal structure, but subsequent exposure of the digested sperm to ATP caused a disintegration of the flagellar structure. Direct observation of this disintegration by light microscopy, using dark-field illumination, combined with an electron microscope study of preparations of the disintegrated sperm, demonstrated the presence of an active sliding mechanism of filament interaction in bull spermatozoa. Human sperm subjected to the same procedures showed similar patterns of reactivation and of disintegration. © 1975, Rockefeller University Press., All rights reserved.