DHA And Cell Structure

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fatty acids, have been shown to improve heart health, eye health, depression, cognitive scores and cholesterol levels.

Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids could also prevent chronic inflammation, which has been shown to be the start of many disease processes.

Now, DHA one of the omega-3 fatty acids, has been shown to improve male fertility, by altering the structure of developing sperm.

Let me explain…

Acrosomes

Acrosomes are organelles that are located on the front head of sperm cells.

They are a cap like structure that develops from the Golgi apparatus, which could help fuse the head of the sperm together.

When your testicles are fully developed, the formation of acrosomes is also completed.

Structurally, the acrosomes play a very important role in male fertility.

Research suggests that the acrosome contains powerful enzymes which could help digest the outside of the ovum, or the female egg.

This allows for the nucleuses of the sperm and egg to join together and start the cascade of events to fertilization and human reproduction.

According to some clinical studies, when the Golgi apparatus does not fully fuse together, a rounded head is formed.

And this could lead to infertility due to the sperms inability to break through the membrane of the ovum.

DHA and Acrosomes

Breakthrough research shows that DHA could play an integral role in the development and fusion of the acrosomes, which could result in more functional sperm cells.

The researchers noted that in Fads2 mice, which are genetically altered mice that are lacking a gene needed for the production of DHA, showed lower DHA levels.

Mice that were deficient in DHA showed a lack of spermiogenesis and male infertility.

However, the symptoms reversed themselves when the mice were supplemented with DHA.

The researchers noted that Fads2 mice were deficient in acrosomes, however, they did notice that the mice had acrosin (a marker for acrosoms) scattered throughout their cytoplasm.

They also noticed that Fads2 mice lacked acrosomes even when there were proacrosomal cells present, which they concluded showed vesicle dysfunction.

They also noticed that Fads2 mice were lacking in Syntax 2, which is a protein that could be involved in normal vesicle fusion and function.

In the Fads2 mice, Syntax 2 was in pieces, which could show that the mice were unable to develop normal acrosomes, which could result in non-functioning sperm cells.

However, by supplementing the mice with DHA, they showed increased fusion of the acrosomes.

They concluded that a lack of DHA could result in decreased acrosomal fusion after proacrosomal granules are released and also a decrease in fully functioning syntaxin 2 proteins.

Also, they concluded that DHA could play an integral role in proper function of membrane proteins, which are required for normal vesicle function.

Omega 3 and Fertility

Omega-3 fatty acids have been used as a way to improve heart health, improve fetal brain development, help with immediate recall in the elderly, and now could be useful in reproductive health.

DHA, which is an integral component of the omega-3 blend (the other being EPA), has been suggested by research to aid in the development of the arch like shaped head of the sperm which then could have an easier time breaking down the outside membrane of the egg.

The research is new, but could provide a new use for omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA.


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