Acrosome 1918 Volume

Volume 5 of Advances in Developmental Biochemistry consists of seven chapters that review specific aspects of development in several different organisms including mollusks, flies, and mice. Five of the seven chapters address aspects of fertilization, including capacitation of sperm (Chapter 3), the acrosome reaction (Chapter 7), gamete adhesion (Chapters 2 and 6), and oocyte maturation and ovulation (Chapter 4). 

Data from animal studies suggest that exposure to excessive selenium has adverse effects on testosterone levels and sperm production and increases the percentage of abnormal sperm (El-Zarkouny et al. 1999 Kaur and Parshad 1994 NTP 1994). A significant reduction (49%) in serum testosterone levels was reported for New Zealand White rabbits gavaged with 0.3 mg selenium/kg (0.001 mg selenium/kg/day) as sodium selenite once a week for 6 weeks (El-Zarkouny et al. 1999). The percentage of spermatozoa without an acrosome was also increased in treated rabbits compared with controls, but the difference was not significant. Sperm motility, ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, and total sperm output were all reduced by selenium treatment, but statistical analysis of these data was not presented. 

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