As a highly differentiated haploid germ cell in male body, sperm is an important carrier of life genetic information transmission, and its structural integrity is the condition of normal insemination, and also the basis of normal metabolism to produce energy and complete epigenetic inheritance. Sperm metabolism is considered to be the "energy supply station" of sperm movement, which ensures the normal life activities such as spermatogenesis, maturation, over-activation and sperm-egg union. Abnormal metabolism will directly affect the sperm vitality and cause male infertility. Sperm epigenetic inheritance is a process that affects the embryonic development and reproduction of offspring through paternal inheritance, including DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling and small RNA carried by sperm and other regulatory modes, which can also affect energy production to a certain extent, thereby leading to the decline of sperm motility and male fertility. Therefore, sperm metabolism and epigenetics are inextricably related to the maintenance of sperm motility. In this paper, the structure, metabolism and epigenetic regulation of human sperm are reviewed in order to provide theoretical reference for the research on male infertility caused by abnormal sperm motility.

As a highly differentiated haploid germ cell in male body, sperm is an important carrier of life genetic information transmission, and its structural integrity is the condition of normal insemination, and also the basis of normal metabolism to produce energy and complete epigenetic inheritance. Sperm metabolism is considered to be the "energy supply station" of sperm movement, which ensures the normal life activities such as spermatogenesis, maturation, over-activation and sperm-egg union. Abnormal metabolism will directly affect the sperm vitality and cause male infertility. Sperm epigenetic inheritance is a process that affects the embryonic development and reproduction of offspring through paternal inheritance, including DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling and small RNA carried by sperm and other regulatory modes, which can also affect energy production to a certain extent, thereby leading to the decline of sperm motility and male fertility. Therefore, sperm metabolism and epigenetics are inextricably related to the maintenance of sperm motility. In this paper, the structure, metabolism and epigenetic regulation of human sperm are reviewed in order to provide theoretical reference for the research on male infertility caused by abnormal sperm motility.