BackgroundAmong new therapies emerging in the medical field, the use of platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) in human reproduction has not yet been explored.ObjectivesThis study aimed at investigating the effect of autologous PRP on sperm parameters in the presence and absence of H2O2.Materials and methodsSemen samples were collected from 30 healthy men in their fourth decade attending Azoury IVF clinic. Spermatozoa, cultured in the presence or absence of 10 μM H2O2, were left untreated or treated with increasing concentrations of PRP (2, 5, and 10%). After 24‐h incubation, ROS levels were assessed and sperm parameters were evaluated.ResultsOur results highlight the harmful effect of H2O2 on sperm parameters, showing an increase in the percentage of reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐positive cells, vacuolization, and sperm DNA fragmentation, and a decrease in progressive and total motility in the H2O2‐treated group compared to non‐stressed spermatozoa. When samples were treated with PRP, an improvement of the studied parameters was noted mainly with 2% PRP, thus regarded as the best concentration to achieve a positive effect on sperm parameters. Indeed, non‐stressed and stressed spermatozoa treated with 2% PRP showed a significant increase in progressive and total motility, coupled with a decrease in ROS‐positive cells, DNA fragmentation, vacuolization, and dead cells compared to the untreated group. In contrast, no significant difference in cell morphology was found between the two groups. Moreover, 2% PRP treatment enhanced sperm parameters and prevented cell death in H2O2‐exposed spermatozoa as compared to freshly collected semen.DiscussionWe suggest that PRP because of its wide arrays of growth factors included in his alpha granules contributes to the inhibition of ROS through the antioxidant, anti‐apoptotic activity.ConclusionAutologous PRP improves the quality of the sperm, more so in the presence of an H2O2‐induced OS.

Background and ObjectivesOxidative stress (OS) is known to be an important factor of male infertility. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) are known to have immune-modulatory and anti-oxidant effects through their secretions, hence raising the idea of their potential benefit to improve sperm parameters. This study aims at investigating the effect of AD-MSCs conditioned medium (CM) on human sperm parameters in the presence and absence of H2O2-induced OS.Methods and ResultsSperm samples were collected from 30 healthy men and divided into two groups: non-stressed and H2O2-stressed. Isolated AD-MSCs from healthy donors undergoing liposuction were cultured and CM was collected at 24, 48 and 72 h. Both sperm groups were cultured with CM and a time course was performed followed by an evaluation of sperm parameters. The incubation of non-stressed and stressed sperm samples with AD-MSCs-CM for 24 h was found to have the optimum impact on sperm vacuolization, DNA fragmentation and OS levels in comparison to other incubation timings, while preserving motility, viability and morphology of cells. Incubation with CM improved all sperm parameters except morphology in comparison to the non-treated group, with the best effect noted with CM collected at 24 h rather than 48 or 72 h for sperm vacuolization and DNA fragmentation. When compared to fresh semen parameters (T0), samples cultured with CM 24 h showed a significant decrease in sperm vacuolization and DNA fragmentation while keeping other parameters stable.ConclusionsAD-MSCSs-CM improves sperm quality, and hence can be used in treating infertility and subsequently enhancing IVF outcomes.

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A salient effect of strong confinement, especially when quasi one-dimensional, is to drastically alter the &#xD;phase behavior and concomitantly the physico-chemical properties of a substance encountered in the bulk. &#xD;The ground state phase diagram of dipolar hard spheres of diameter $d$ as a function of the pore opening &#xD;\revision{$1<D/d<3.5$, &#xD;with $D$ being the cylinder diameter of the confining pore}, is investigated theoretically. &#xD;Whereas finding the densest configurations with hard spheres would be a purely &#xD;geometrical problem, the situation becomes much more intricate with long-ranged anisotropic interactions.&#xD;As a major finding, long pores prohibit chain undulation (\textit{helicity})&#xD;and wall-contact-free (\textit{floating}) linear chain bundles emerge. &#xD;These results shed light on recent experimental observations with magnetic colloids in microtubes.&#xD;Applications in other fields are discussed as well.