The formation of disulfide bonds in human protamines during sperm maturation

Summary The disulfide contents of human sperm heads, as measured by reduction to the sulfhydryls and subsequent alkylation with¹⁴C-iodoacetamide, increase about 2-fold during the sperm passage from the caput to caudal epididymides. Majority of the increased disulfides reside in the human protamine fractions.We thank Drs Jisnuson Svasti and Nongnuj Tanphaichitr for their valuable suggestions. This work was supported by the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, and the Rockefeller Foundation.