Glycolytic enzyme activity in hypotonically treated boar spermatozoa

Abstract

Treatment of washed boar sperm with hypotonic phosphate buffer disrupted the cytoplasmic membrane and released the soluble contents and phosphofructokinase, but the other glycolytic enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase were retained. Addition of the appropriate substrates and co-factor(s) to preparations of treated cells in phosphate-buffered saline showed that enzyme activity could be re-instated. This simple preparation should be of assistance in the investigation of specific sections of the glycolytic pathway without the use of chemical inhibitors.