Antithrombin III enhances the motility and chemotaxis of boar sperm.

Abstract

Purified porcine antithrombin III stimulates motility and acts as a chemoattractant of washed boar sperm. Porcine follicular fluid and blood plasma both possess chemotactic activity. Porcine antithrombin III-immunoreactive molecules are distributed on the zona pellucida of ovulated eggs flushed from the swine oviducts. We propose that antithrombin III plays important roles in the mammalian fertilization process in vivo.