acroplaxome

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noun

A structure that lies between the membranes of the acrosome and nucleus of a spermatozoon.

Scrabble 24

Meanings

nounacroplaxome (plural acroplaxomes)

plural acroplaxomes

  1. A structure that lies between the membranes of the acrosome and nucleus of a spermatozoon.

    Concomitantly, pro-acrosomal vesicles derived from the TMF -/- Golgi lacked targeting properties and did not tether to the spermatid nuclear membrane thereby failing to form the acrosome anchoring scaffold, the acroplaxome, around the cell-nucleus.

    2015 December 24, “TMF/ARA160 Governs the Dynamic Spatial Orientation of the Golgi Apparatus during Sperm Development”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
    2 more examples

    Herein, we report the structural characterization of a plate present in the subacrosomal space and linking the developing acrosome to the spermatid nucleus. This plate, which we designate acroplaxome (from the Greek words akros, topmost; platys, flat; sõma, body), consists of F-actin and Sak57 and is bordered by a marginal ring.

    2003 November, Abraham L. Kierszenbaum, “Acroplaxome, an F-Actin–Keratin-containing Plate, Anchors the Acrosome to the Nucleus during Shaping of the Spermatid Head”, in Molecular Biology of the Cell, volume 14, page 4628

    Acrosome development is accomplished by F-actin–rich structures present in the subacrosomal space; these structures have been termed the acroplaxome (an actin-based scaffold that anchors the acrosome to the nuclear membrane) and the marginal ring (an actin-rich structure at the leading edge of the spreading acrosome).

    2018, C. Yan Cheng, Spermatogenesis: Biology and Clinical Implications

Origin

According to the authors of its first attestation, from acro- + Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “flat”) + -some, but synonymous πλάξ (pláx) fits better.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

acroplaxome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acroplaxome

MLA

“acroplaxome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acroplaxome. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acroplaxome,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acroplaxome.

Source: acroplaxome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.