An update of the regulatory factors of sperm migration from the uterus into the oviduct by genetically manipulated mice

Abstract

Mammalian reproductive processes involve spermatogenesis, which occurs in the testis, and fertilization, which takes place in the female genital tract. Fertilization is a successive, multistep, and extremely complicated event that usually includes sperm survival in the uterus, sperm migration through the uterotubal junction (UTJ) and the oviduct, sperm penetration through the cumulus cell layer and the zona pellucida, and sperm–egg fusion. There may be a complex molecular mechanism to ensure that the above processes run smoothly. Previous studies have discovered essential factors for these fertilization steps through in vitro fertilization experiments. However, recent gene disruption approaches in mice have revealed that many of the factors previously described as important for fertilization are largely dispensable in gene-knockout animals, and some previously unknown factors are emerging. As a result, the molecular mechanisms of fertilization, especially sperm migration from the uterus into the oviduct, have recently been revised by the emergence of genetically modified animals. In this review, we only focus on and update the essential genes for sperm migration through the UTJ and describe recent advances in our knowledge of the basis of mammalian sperm migration.