My major research interests have been the cellular and molecular aspects of mammalian gametes and mammalian fertilization (in particular, an essential fertilization step, the acrosome reaction (AR)). My work included the discovery of the zymogen form of the sperm enzyme acrosin, the ability of progesterone to initiate the AR, and the importance of sperm neurotransmitter receptor/ion channels to the AR.
2004 Meizel, S. The sperm, a neuron with a tail: neuronal receptors in mammalian sperm. Biological Reviews, 79:713-732
2005 Meizel, S. and J-H. Son. Studies of sperm from mutant mice suggesting that two neurotransmitter receptors are important to the zona pellucida-initiated acrosome reaction. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 72:250-258.
2008 Kumar, P. and S. Meizel. Identification and spatial distribution of glycine receptor subunits in human sperm. Reproduction, 136:387-390.