Hamster sperm glycine receptor: evidence for its presence and involvement in the acrosome reaction

Recent reports have provided evidence for the presence of amino acid neurotransmitter receptor/chloride channels in human and porcine spermatozoa and their involvement in the acrosome reaction (AR). In this work we investigated whether a glycine receptor (GlyR) was present in golden hamster sperm, and whether it had a role in the hamster AR. The neuronal GlyR agonist glycine, stimulated in a dose-dependent manner, the AR of hamster spermatozoa previously capacitated for at least 3 hr. This stimulation was completely inhibited by 50 microM (+)-bicuculline and by concentrations of strychnine as low as 10-50 nM; both agents are antagonists of neuronal GlyR when used at the concentrations reported in this study. beta-Alanine, another agonist of the neuronal GlyR, also stimulated the AR. The AR-stimulatory effect of this compound was completely abolished by 50 nM strychnine. The inhibitory effect of strychnine on the glycine-induced hamster sperm AR was completely overcome by subsequent treatment with the calcium ionophore ionomycin, demonstrating that the strychnine effect was specific for GlyR. Additional binding studies with (3)H]-strychnine, the typical radioligand used to detect GlyR in several cells, demonstrated for the first time the presence of specific binding sites for strychnine in the hamster spermatozoa. Interestingly, binding increased during in vitro capacitation, particularly in those sperm suspensions showing high percentages of AR. Taken together these results strongly suggest the presence of a GlyR in the hamster spermatozoa, with a role in the AR when activated.