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OBSERVATIONS ON SOME PROPERTIES OF A POTENT SPERM-HEAD AGGLUTININ IN THE SEMEN OF A FERTILE RABBIT

Summary.: A potent agglutinin in the semen of a fertile male rabbit caused massive head-to-head agglutination of its own ejaculated spermatozoa and those of other rabbits, without reducing their motility, or destroying their fertility. By contrast, rabbit spermatozoa collected from the uterus 12 hr after insemination, and bull, rat, hamster, guinea-pig and human spermatozoa, were immobilized immediately when exposed to the active seminal plasma, the agglutinating and spermicidal properties of which were destroyed by heating to 55° C for 20 min. This indicates a specific change in the susceptibilities as well as in the functional competence of rabbit spermatozoa during the period of capacitation in the uterus. The agglutinin-active plasma also brought about marked clumping of leucocytes, but not of erythrocytes or granulosa cells. Brief comment is made on the nature of the sperm surface and on the significance of seminal antagglutins.