Sperm surface changes during the acrosome reaction as observed by freeze-fracture.

The mammalian acrosome reaction is an exocytotic process that can be analyzed by the technique of freeze-fracture; only sperm cells capacitated in vitro or treated to elicit the acrosome reaction in vitro have been studied, and all pictures published are from material fixed before freezing. All the authors point out the appearance of particle-free areas in the plasma membrane of the acrosomal region during capacitation and before any fusion. This is interpreted as an increase in membrane fluidity as suggested by studies on membrane lipid composition in guinea-pig sperm. We have recently described the induced acrosome reaction in ram spermatozoa. Fusion starts at the limit of the anterior and equatorial segments and progresses forward in the anterior segment along ramified paths, resulting in a fenestration gradient of the acrosomal cap. Fusion propagation may be controlled by fluidity increase in the plasma membrane of the anterior segment, and it is probably inhibited in the equatorial segment by the ordered structure of the acrosomal membrane.