Semen sialic acid surge and modulation of alpha-L-fucosidase activity: possible link to loss in reproductive capacity during trypanosomiasis.

The profiles of semen sialic acid and the enzyme alpha-L-fucosidase were studied in rams undergoing chronic infection by Trypanosoma congolense. Our data showed a significant surge in the level of sialic acid with parasitaemia. The pattern followed a polynomial function we had reported for erythrocyte sialic acid in mice undergoing acute infection by T.