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KSper, a pH-sensitive K + current that controls sperm membrane potential
Open accessAbstract
Mature mammalian spermatozoa are quiescent in the male reproductive tract. Upon ejaculation and during their transit through the female reproductive tract, they undergo changes that enable them to fertilize the egg. During this process of capacitation, they acquire progressive motility, develop hyperactivated motility, and are readied for the acrosome reaction. All of these processes are regulated by intracellular pH. In the female reproductive tract, the spermatozoan cytoplasm alkalinizes, which in turn activates a Ca 2+ -selective current ( I CatSper ) required for hyperactivated motility. Here, we show that alkalinization also has a dramatic effect on membrane potential, producing a rapid hyperpolarization. This hyperpolarization is primarily mediated by a weakly outwardly rectifying K + current ( I KSper ) originating from the principal piece of the sperm flagellum. Alkalinization activates the pH i -sensitive I KSper , setting the membrane potential to negative potentials where Ca 2+ entry via I CatSper is maximized. I KSper is one of two dominant ion currents of capacitated sperm cells.
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Citations
Cited by
The biology of infertility: research advances and clinical challenges
Matzuk, M. M., & Lamb, D. J. (2008) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/nm.f.1895 · Cited by 951
THE CONCISE GUIDE TO PHARMACOLOGY 2019/20: Ion channels
Alexander, S. P. H., Mathie, A., Peters, J. A., Veale, E. L., Striessnig, J., Kelly, E., Armstrong, J. F., Faccenda, E., Harding, S. D., Pawson, A. J., et al. (2019) · British Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/bph.14749 · Cited by 606
Control of hyperactivation in sperm
Suarez, S. S. (2008) · Human Reproduction Update · doi:10.1093/humupd/dmn029 · Cited by 584
Acid Extrusion from Human Spermatozoa Is Mediated by Flagellar Voltage-Gated Proton Channel
Lishko, P. V., Botchkina, I. L., Fedorenko, A., & Kirichok, Y. (2010) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2009.12.053 · Cited by 386
Self-citationCalcium Channels in the Development, Maturation, and Function of Spermatozoa
Darszon, A., Nishigaki, T., Beltran, C., & Treviño, C. L. (2011) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.00028.2010 · Cited by 364
Metadata
- Authors
- Navarro, B., Kirichok, Y., & Clapham, D. E.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2007-05
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 18
- Pages
- 7688-7692
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- OpenAlex
- W1995712154
- Cited by
- 226
- References
- 0
- FWCI
- 9.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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- Navarro, B., Kirichok, Y., & Clapham, D. E. (2007). KSper, a pH-sensitive K + current that controls sperm membrane potential. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702018104
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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