Open AccessRole of sodium bicarbonate on the initiation of sperm motility in the Japanese eel
Author(s) -
TANAKA Satoru,
UTOH Tomoko,
YAMADA Yoshiaki,
HORIE Noriyuki,
OKAMURA Akihiro,
AKAZAWA Atsushi,
MIKAWA Naomi,
OKA Hideo P,
KUROKURA Hisashi
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
fisheries science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.412
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1444-2906
pISSN - 0919-9268
DOI - 10.1111/j.1444-2906.2004.00871.x
Subject(s) - motility , sperm motility , sodium , intracellular , intracellular ph , chemistry , bicarbonate , sperm , calcium , sodium bicarbonate , calcium in biology , ammonium chloride , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , biochemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , botany , organic chemistry
In order to find out the role of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) on the initiation of sperm motility in the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica , interactions were investigated between NaHCO 3 and various reagents (K + channel blocker 4‐aminopyridine [4‐AP], ammonium chloride [NH 4 Cl], sodium acetate and calcium chloride [CaCl 2 ]) that could regulate internal factors (intracellular K + , intracellular pH [[pH] i ] and intracellular Ca 2+ ) in sperm motility. Contradictory effects of NaHCO 3 were observed (i.e. an inhibitory effect when 4‐AP was absent and a promoting effect when 4‐AP was present). Sodium bicarbonate inhibited the initiation of sperm motility in the Japanese eel. However, NaHCO 3 restored the motility of immotile sperm that 4‐AP inhibited. The inhibitory effect of NaHCO 3 disappeared with the addition of NH 4 Cl, which raised [pH] i , but the promoting effect was not affected by [pH] i . Although NaHCO 3 recovered motility in the presence of 4‐AP, this recovery was also observed with the addition of CaCl 2 instead of NaHCO 3 . In the initiation of sperm motility in the Japanese eel, two roles for NaHCO 3 are suggested: an inhibitory role relating to the regulation of [pH] i and a promoting role relating to the uptake of another initiation factor, which could be Ca 2+ .