This is a sometimes forgotten application in the biotechnology field: fertilization. Capacitation is an important event in the completion of fertilization by mammalian sperm. cholesterol efflux is a trigger of capacitation. In general, cholesterol acceptors of albumin and β-cyclodextrins are used to induce capacitation during in vitro fertilization. Kumamoto University, JAPAN published a study using dimethyl-α-cyclodextrin (DMACD) that induced sperm capacitation and promoted fertilization ability better than other CDs before, highlighting the role of not only cholesterol but also other phospholipids in the process. These findings suggest that phospholipid efflux is a novel trigger of capacitation. Increasing the choice of sperm capacitation inducers may be useful for improving in-vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques in mice and various species in which it has been difficult to produce embryos by IVF.
