Article date: June 1985
By: CY Hong, BN Chiang, P Wu, YH Wei, JC Fong, in Volume 19, Issue 6, pages 739-743
The shape of the concentration‐response curve and the amplitude of maximal motility increase for the stimulatory effect of caffeine on human sperm motility were similar to those of EGTA, a calcium chelator, and lanthanum chloride, a calcium entry blocker. On the other hand, the maximal motility stimulation induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP was similar to that induced by trifluoperazine, a calmodulin antagonist. The antagonism of A23187 on the motility‐stimulating effect of EGTA and caffeine was competitive in nature, while that on cyclic AMP was non‐ competitive. We proposed that there could be two mechanisms for caffeine to stimulate sperm motility: at higher concentrations, caffeine modified calcium translocation; at lower concentrations, caffeine increased cyclic AMP level. The importance of calcium in the regulation of human sperm motility was reconfirmed in this study.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1985.tb02708.x
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