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  • Title: On the presence of bridges linking the inner and outer acrosomal membranes of boar spermatozoa.
    Author: Russell L, Peterson RN, Freund M.
    Journal: Anat Rec; 1980 Nov; 198(3):449-59. PubMed ID: 7006460.
    Abstract:
    The presence of structures bridging the inner and outer acrosomal membranes of the equatorial segment of boar spermatozoa was clearly demonstrated in cells that have undergone a variety of treatment procedures to displace the electron-dense contents of the acrosome. En-face sections show bridges to be punctate and not linearly extensive as might be suggested by sections perpendicular to the flat plane of the head. About 4.5 x 10(5) bridges, each measuring 7 nm across and spaced 7 nm apart, are arrayed hexagonally in the equatorial segment, but bridges are not present within the principal segment of the acrosome. Short-term treatment with trypsin partially digests the bridges, but does not disrupt the spacing or strict parallel configuration of equatorial segment membranes. However, short-term treatment with pronase digests most bridges and effectively disrupts the typical configuration of the equatorial segment. Freeze-fracture of the cytoplasmic face of the acrosomal membranes of the equatorial segment reveals a pattern throughout the phospholipid layer of the membrane which is similar to the pattern of bridges present in en-face thin sections of the equatorial segments. The data suggest that numerous bridges link the inner and outer acrosomal membranes of the equatorial segment of the acrosome and they play a major, if not an exclusive, role in maintaining the close spacing and parallel arrangement of the membranes in this portion of the acrosome.
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