Chang's meaning of capacitation: A molecular perspective

• Published in: Molecular reproduction and development Vol. 83; no. 10; pp. 860 - 874
• Main Authors: Gervasi, Maria Gracia, Visconti, Pablo E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Female; Fertilization in Vitro - history; Fertilization in Vitro - methods; Fertilization in Vitro - trends; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Male; Sperm Capacitation
• ISSN: 1040-452X; 1098-2795; 1098-2795
• DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22663

SUMMARY Dr. Min Chue Chang's contributions to the field of reproductive biology set the stage for the development of the contraceptive pill and in vitro fertilization. Throughout his publications, Dr. Chang was also able to transmit his view of the fertilization process in ways that organized research for newer generations of reproductive biologists. Particularly relevant for the achievement of in vitro fertilization in mammals was the discovery that the sperm required a period of residence in the female tract to become fertilization‐competent; Dr. Chang and Dr. Austin, in Australia, independently reported this process, now known as sperm capacitation. This review discusses Dr. Chang's views on capacitation, and puts them in the context of recent advances in the understanding of the molecular basis of this process. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 860–874, 2016 © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.