出版社：American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
摘要：Previously we demonstrated high concentrations of desmosterol and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n– 9 cells in heads). The cholesterol content was also greater in the tails (66.2 vs. 30.3 μg/109 cells in heads). Sperm tails had more polyunsaturated fatty acids than the heads (34.1 vs. 12.1% of total fatty acids) which resulted mainly from the higher contents of DHA (19.6 vs. 1.1%) and arachidonic acid (20:4 n–6) (6.4 vs. 1.6%) in the tails. These differences in fatty acid composition occur red mainly in phospholipids: phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine for n–3 fatty acids and phosphatidylserine and cardiolipin for n–6 fatty acids. Fifteen phospholipid molecular species were identified. Sperm tails had more molecular species containing unsaturated fatty acids than the heads. Our results reveal the large differences in membrane lipid composition between the heads and tails of sperm. Most (99%) of the desmosterol and DHA in sperm is located in the tail. These differences may be responsible for the different functions of these two components of sperm. The large number of double bonds in DHA, six, and in desmosterol, two, may contribute to the membrane fluidity necessary for the motility of the sperm tails. —Connor, W. E., D. S. Lin, D. P. Wolf, and M. Alexander. Uneven distribution of desmosterol and docosahexaenoic acid in the heads and tails of monkey sperm. J. Lipid Res. 1998. 39: 1404–1411.
