Anatomy

Capacitation

Epididymis

Biology

Human fertilization

Andrology

Chemistry

Oocyte

Embryo

Sperm motility

Zona pellucida

Acrosome

Acrosome reaction

Sperm

Cell biology

Motility

Medicine

Reproduction

The epididymis is necessary for post-testicular sperm maturation as it provides the milieu required for spermatozoa to gain the ability for progressive movement and fertilization. In the epididymis the sperm protein, lipid and small RNA content are heavily modified due to interaction with luminal proteins secreted by the epididymal epithelium and extracellular vesicles, epididymosomes. This review focuses on epididymal proteins demonstrated to have an effect on sperm functions, such as motility, capacitation, acrosome reaction, sperm-zona pellucida binding and sperm-egg binding, as well as on embryonic development.

The impact of epididymal proteins on sperm function