Fig. 5. Fer1l5 mutant spermatozoa can undergo capacitation-associated processes.

(A) Immunoblot (IB) analysis for phosphotyrosine (pTyr) in noncapacitated (10 min) and capacitated (1 and 2 hours) spermatozoa. ACTB (actin beta) as control. (B) Maximal bending angles of the midpiece in primary antihook curvature were measured. We analyzed 60 spermatozoa from three mice of each genotype (20 spermatozoa from each mouse). No significant differences were found between the control and Fer1l5 mutant mice. ***P < 0.001 (Student’s t test). (C) Observation of sperm heads with transmission electron microscopy. Spermatozoa were incubated 10 min or 4 hours in capacitation medium, and A23187 was added after 4 hours of incubation. The acrosome swelling was observed in Fer1l5 mutant spermatozoa as well.