The suspension of guinea pig spermatozoa in substrate‐free medium results in the cessation of sperm motility and a 94% reduction in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels within minutes. ATP depletion was not deleterious to spermatozoa since motility was fully restored by the addition of pyruvate. In addition, sperm were able to synthesize ATP by metabolizing pyruvate. Following incubation for 0, 30, and 60 minutes in medium without substrate, acrosome reactions were measured before and after motility restoration. ATP depletion induced a large percentage of acrosome reactions relative to controls (32.29 ± 1.22% compared with 0.63 ± 0.02% at 60 minutes). Ca2+ was required for the effect. It is suggested that ATP depletion inactivates a Ca2+ ‐dependent ATPase expulsion mechanism for Ca2+, thereby permitting Ca2+ influx and the acrosome reaction.
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Santos‐Sacchi et al. (1982) studied this question.
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