The sperm is essential for reconstitution of embryonic diploidy and highly specialized developmental functions. Immediately after gamete fusion, the sperm-borne PLC-zeta triggers activation, generating intracellular free Ca2+ oscillations. Mutations in the PLC-zeta encoding gene are associated with the absence of this factor in mature sperm and inability to achieve fertilization. Sperm play also a role in the greater game of the choreography of fertilization. In the human, the sperm centrioles are introduced into the oocyte environment with gamete fusion. They interact with the oocyte cytoskeletal apparatus to form a functional pair of centrosomes and ultimately regulate pronuclear juxtaposition in preparation for the first cleavage. As a consequence, the fidelity of chromosome segregation during the first cell divisions depends on the function of sperm centrioles. Sperm DNA integrity is essential for embryo development and health. Damaged DNA does not impact on the sperm fertilization ability following ICSI. However, detrimental effects emerge at pre- and post-implantation stages. Sperm-specific epigenetic factors also play an active role in the regulation of embryonic development, as shown by correlations between reduced embryo morphological quality and incorrect chromatin packaging during spermiogenesis or abnormal methylation of sperm CpG islands. This functional landscape demonstrates that the contribution of the sperm to development goes far beyond its well-established role in fertilization. Clinical studies confirm this view and indicate sperm function as a crucial aspect of research to increase the efficacy of assisted reproduction treatments.

中文翻译：

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胚胎发育和健康的父亲工具箱

精子对于胚胎二倍体的重建和高度专业化的发育功能至关重要。配子融合后，精子携带的 PLC-zeta 立即触发激活，产生细胞内游离 Ca2+ 振荡。PLC-zeta 编码基因的突变与成熟精子中缺乏该因子以及无法实现受精有关。精子在受精编排的更大游戏中也发挥着作用。在人类中，精子中心粒通过配子融合被引入卵母细胞环境。它们与卵母细胞骨架装置相互作用，形成一对功能性的中心体，并最终调节原核并列，为第一次卵裂做准备。作为结果，第一次细胞分裂过程中染色体分离的保真度取决于精子中心粒的功能。精子 DNA 的完整性对于胚胎发育和健康至关重要。受损的 DNA 不会影响 ICSI 后的精子受精能力。然而，有害影响出现在植入前和植入后阶段。精子特异性表观遗传因子也在胚胎发育的调节中发挥积极作用，如精子发生过程中胚胎形态质量降低与染色质包装不正确或精子 CpG 岛异常甲基化之间的相关性所示。这种功能性景观表明，精子对发育的贡献远远超出了其在受精中公认的作用。