Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (9)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tosti, E.
Right arrow Articles by Boni, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tosti, E.
Right arrow Articles by Boni, R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction Update, Vol.10, No.1 pp.53-65, 2004
© European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 2004; all rights reserved

Electrical events during gamete maturation and fertilization in animals and humans

Elisabetta Tosti1,3 and Raffaele Boni2

1 Laboratory of Cell Biology, Stazione Zoologica, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples and 2 Department of Animal Science, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed: e-mail: tosti{at}szn.it

Gamete cells are electrogenic, i.e. capable of responding to electrical stimuli and modifying their electrical properties during the crucial periods of maturation and fertilization. Ion channels have been widely demonstrated on the plasma membrane of the oocyte and spermatozoon in all animals studied, and electrical modifications in gametes are due to ion currents that are modulated via these ion channels. The modification of intracellular calcium levels in gametes has been extensively studied, and these modifications are recognized to be a second messenger system for gamete maturation and fertilization. Other ions also move through the plasma membrane, either in association with or independent of calcium, and these generate typical features such as fertilization currents and oscillation of resting potential. These modifications were first studied in marine invertebrates, and the observations subsequently compared with mammalian systems, including human. The precise role played by these currents in the processes of maturation and fertilization is still poorly understood; however, recent research opens new frontiers for their clinical and technological application.

Key words: electrophysiology/fertilization/gamete maturation/ion channels/ion currents


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ReproductionHome page
S.-W. Dessie, F. Rings, M. Holker, M. Gilles, D. Jennen, E. Tholen, V. Havlicek, U. Besenfelder, V. L Sukhorukov, U. Zimmermann, et al.
Dielectrophoretic behavior of in vitro-derived bovine metaphase II oocytes and zygotes and its relation to in vitro embryonic developmental competence and mRNA expression pattern
Reproduction, May 1, 2007; 133(5): 931 - 946.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.