Extrusion of microtubule doublet outer dense fibers 5-6 associating with fibrous sheath sliding in mouse sperm flagella.

Our previous experiments (Si and Okuno [1993a] Exp. Cell Res., 208:170-174) provided evidence that the fibrous sheath (FS) slid headward to middle piece in the activated mouse sperm flagellum when doublet microtubules together with their outer dense fibers (ODFs) extruded from the axoneme. Of the extruded doublet-ODFs, however, which one was responsible for the FS sliding remained unresolved. The present study demonstrated that the FS sliding and the order of doublet-ODFs extrusion in mouse sperm flagella were trypsin concentration dependent. Under the condition of mild trypsinization (0.1 micrograms/ml), only doublet-ODFs 4, 5-6 (doublet-ODFs 5 and 6 were always paired), and 7 extruded from the axoneme. Furthermore, the extrusion of doublet-ODFs 5-6 was identified to precede doublet-ODFs 4 and 7, and was considered the candidate responsible for FS sliding. In contrast, the high-concentration trypsinization (4 micrograms/ml) led to extrusion of doublet-ODFs 1, 2, and 9 following doublet-ODFs 4, 5-6, and 7. FS sliding, however, did not occur.