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. 1972 Apr;127(2):375–385. doi: 10.1042/bj1270375

Metabolism of fatty acids by bovine spermatozoa

A R Neill 1,2, C J Masters 1,2
PMCID: PMC1178598  PMID: 4342556

Abstract

The incorporation of 14C-labelled myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids in vitro into the lipids of bovine spermatozoa was measured at intervals from 2min to 2h. All acids were rapidly incorporated into diglycerides, myristic acid being metabolized to the greatest extent. Whereas the low incorporation of acids into total phospholipids reflected the relative stability of the major phospholipid fractions in sperm, the minor phospholipids, particularly phosphatidylinositol, showed comparatively high metabolic activity. Although, in general, saturated acids were incorporated more actively than unsaturated substrates, stearic acid was poorly incorporated into all lipids except phosphatidylinositol. In regard to fatty acid composition of sperm lipids it was notable that diglycerides contained myristic acid as the major component, and this acid was also a prominent moiety of phosphatidylinositol. Docosahexaenoic acid was the principal fatty acid of the major phospholipid classes. These findings have been discussed in relation to the role of lipids in the metabolism of spermatozoa.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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