Pathways of Glucose Utilization in Epididymal and Testicular Sperm Cells

Abstract
Pathways of glucose utilization from bull and ram were investigated, using C14-labeled glucose as a tracer. An equal contribution to CO2 from the 2 substrates in epididymal spermatozoa and a preferential recovery of CO2 from glucose-1-C14 as compared with glucose-6-C14 in testicular sperm cells was observed. Results suggest that in epididymal spermatozoa the basic mechanism of glucose utilization is that of the Embden-Meyerhof scheme whereas in the testicular sperm cells glucose may be metabolized via alternative pathways.