ArticleCurrent biology : CB2013
Rheotaxis guides mammalian sperm.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 178 papers.
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Who cites it
178 citing papers in PubMed, 450 citations in OpenAlex.
- CATSPERβ-δ Interaction Governs Hierarchical CatSper Holo-complex Assembly and is Essential for Male Fertility.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The systems that transport ions and their impact on sperm function and male fertility.Function (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Sperm hyperactivation drives a circling-and-wandering swimming behavior.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Uterine epithelial estrogen receptor α temporally regulates preimplantation uterine immunity involving interleukin-1β signaling.Reproductive and developmental medicine · 2026Article
- Separation of sperm based on rheotaxis mechanism using a microfluidic device.Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine · 2026Article
- Let the female tract choose: finding the sperm to enhanceAnimal reproduction · 2026Article
- Oocyte transport against fluid flow to the fertilization site in mice: contributions of cilia beating and peristalsis†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
- Physics of microbial taxis and behaviours in response to various physical stimuli.Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences · 2025Review
- Technology Roadmap of Micro/Nanorobots.ACS nano · 2025Review
- Simple and rapid microfluidic device for processing raw human semen and separation of motile sperm based on their intrinsic behavior and morphology.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sperm navigation in humans: a concerted action of multiple means.Communications biology · 2025Review
- The Known and Unknown About Female Reproductive Tract Mucus Rheological Properties.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- A Two-State Random Walk Model of Sperm Search on Confined Domains.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Straining Flow Effects on Sperm Flagellar Energetics in Microfluidic Cross-Slot Traps.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2025Article
- Progesterone signaling in oviductal epithelial cells modulates the immune response to support preimplantation embryonic development.Science advances · 2025Article
- Intracellular domain of CATSPER1 could serve as a cytoplasmic platform for redox processes in mammalian sperm.Animal bioscience · 2025Article
- Review
- Article
- Cyclic AMP Rescue of Motility in Sperm Devoid of Soluble Adenylyl Cyclase.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Swimming by Spinning: Spinning-Top Type Rotations Regularize Sperm Swimming Into Persistently Progressive Paths in 3D.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
118 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn sea urchins, spermatozoan motility is altered by chemotactic peptides, giving rise to the assumption that mammalian eggs also emit chemotactic agents that guide spermatozoa through the female reproductive tract to the mature oocyte. Mammalian spermatozoa indeed undergo complex adaptations within the female (the process of capacitation) that are initiated by agents ranging from pH to progesterone, but these factors are not necessarily taxic. Currently, chemotaxis, thermotaxis, and rheotaxis have not been definitively established in mammals.
resultsHere, we show that positive rheotaxis, the ability of organisms to orient and swim against the flow of surrounding fluid, is a major taxic factor for mouse and human sperm. This flow is generated within 4 hr of sexual stimulation and coitus in female mice; prolactin-triggered oviductal fluid secretion clears the oviduct of debris, lowers viscosity, and generates the stream that guides sperm migration in the oviduct. Rheotaxic movement is demonstrated in capacitated and uncapacitated spermatozoa in low- and high-viscosity media. Finally, we show that a unique sperm motion, which we quantify using the sperm head's rolling rate, reflects sperm rotation that generates essential force for positioning the sperm in the stream. Rotation requires CatSper channels, presumably by enabling Ca(2+) influx.
conclusionsWe propose that rheotaxis is a major determinant of sperm guidance over long distances in the mammalian female reproductive tract. Coitus induces fluid flow to guide sperm in the oviduct. Sperm rheotaxis requires rotational motion during CatSper channel-dependent hyperactivated motility.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.