IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/gcmbxx/v16y2013i10p1106-1111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sperm penetration to the zona pellucida of an oocyte: a computational model incorporating acrosome reaction

Author

Listed:
  • Pavel Kozlovsky
  • Amit Gefen

Abstract

For fertilisation to occur, a spermatozoon needs to cross the zona pellucida (ZP), which is a glycoprotein layer surrounding the oocyte. Crossing the ZP requires an acrosome reaction (AR) where enzymes released from the spermatozoon head locally digest and soften the ZP so that the spermatozoon can penetrate deeper. Here, a biomechanical sperm–oocyte interaction model that considers the AR using the finite element method was formulated. This modelling is used to determine which of the following factors directly contribute to the crossing of the ZP: local ZP softening by AR, sperm head shape, ZP hardening elsewhere than in the AR site, ZP thickness and sperm hyperactivation (more flagellar beating). It has been found that an AR softening the ZP to over one-tenth of its basal stiffness is important for successful sperm penetration, and that ‘sharper’ heads have a biomechanical advantage in penetrating deeper. The approach is promising for understanding this exciting stage of reproduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Pavel Kozlovsky & Amit Gefen, 2013. "Sperm penetration to the zona pellucida of an oocyte: a computational model incorporating acrosome reaction," Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(10), pages 1106-1111, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:gcmbxx:v:16:y:2013:i:10:p:1106-1111
    DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2013.768618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10255842.2013.768618
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/10255842.2013.768618?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:gcmbxx:v:16:y:2013:i:10:p:1106-1111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/gcmb .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.