Exosomes improve spermatozoon’s motility and fertilizing ability in the domestic cat

It is our pleasure to congratulate the team of scientists at the Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on publication of their paper "Oviductal extracellular vesicles interact with the spermatozoon’s head and mid-piece and improves its motility and fertilizing ability in the domestic cat" published in Scientific reports in 2019 by Dr. Marcia Ferraz et al. In the paper the authors examined the influence of oviductal EVs on sperm function in the domestic cat. They demonstrated that (1) EVs are enriched in proteins related to energy metabolism, membrane modification, and reproductive function; (2) EVs bound and fused with the membranes of the acrosome and mid piece; and (3) incubating sperm with EVs improved motility, fertilizing capacity of cat spermatozoa and prevented acrosomal exocytosis in vitro. The authors concluded that these findings provide new insights to improve sperm cryopreservation and in vitro fertilization in the domestic and wild felids and human. Read the full article HERE.