Developmental sperm contributions: fertilization and beyond.

The objective of this review was to examine the role of the various spermatozoal components suspected of actively participating in early human development. The contributions of the fertilizing spermatozoon to the oocyte include, as a minimum, the delivery of the DNA/chromatin, a putative oocyte-activating factor (OAF), and a centriole. Recent data indicate that spermatozoa may also provide the zygote with a unique suite of paternal mRNAs; some transcripts might be crucial for early and late embryonic development and deficient delivery, or aberrant transcription might contribute to abnormal development and arrest.