Morphology and the sperm penetration assay

Zahalsky, Michael P.; Zoltan, Edward; Medley, Nadine E.; Nagler, Harris M.

doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(02)04412-6

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Kruger et al (1987, 1988) demonstrated, using an assay dependent upon the spontaneous acrosome reaction of spermatozoa, a significant positive correlation between the percent of sperm with normal morphology, as judged by strict criteria, and egg penetration rates. In contrast, the study of Zahalsky et al (2003) did not confirm these results. Using an “optimized” sperm penetration assay in which the acrosome reaction was promoted by prior exposure of sperm to egg yolk‐containing medium at low temperature, there was no correlation observed by multivariate analysis between sperm morphology and number of penetrating sperm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

Ability of Abnormally‐Shaped Human Spermatozoa to Adhere to and Penetrate Zona‐Free Hamster Eggs: Correlation With Sperm Morphology and Postincubation Motility

Bronson

Oula

2007

Journal of Andrology

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A body of evidence indicates that morphologically abnormal human spermatozoa may exhibit impaired ability to fertilize. Yet teratospermia has widely varying etiologies, including associations with varicoceles, following fever, cigarette smoking, and exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls. Abnormalities of sperm shape in mice have also been shown to be associated with autosomal gene mutations. These varying causes of teratospermia could have different molecular consequences reflected in altered sperm function. We studied the ability of morphologically abnormal human sperm to penetrate zona-free hamster eggs as a measure of their ability to undergo an acrosome reaction and gamete membrane fusion. Motile sperm from ejaculates containing 15% normal sperm or less, as judged by World Health Organization (1999) criteria, were recovered by ISolate density centrifugation and capacitated by overnight incubation. Zona-free hamster eggs were inseminated with 1 6 10 6 motile capacitated cells and scored for sperm penetration after 3 hours of coincubation. A significant trend was found between the percent of abnormal spermatozoa within the ejaculate and impaired egg-penetrating ability, reflected in the percent of eggs penetrated, the number of penetrating sperm per egg, and the number of sperm adherent to the oolemma. Because only acrosomereacted human spermatozoa adhere to the oolemma, these results support the notion that abnormally shaped sperm may exhibit an impaired ability to undergo an acrosome reaction. A correlation was also noted between the loss of motility of sperm following overnight incubation and impairment of their ability to undergo gamete membrane fusion. These results confirm prior findings at the level of the zona pellucida that abnormally shaped sperm exhibit functional abnormalities. However, a wide variation was observed between men in the behavior of such sperm, including occasionally high rates of egg penetration. These observations suggest that assessment of morphology may be an unreliable measure, for the individual, of sperm fertilizing ability and emphasize that sperm function testing is an important part of the evaluation of teratospermia.

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confidence: 72%

Ability of Abnormally‐Shaped Human Spermatozoa to Adhere to and Penetrate Zona‐Free Hamster Eggs: Correlation With Sperm Morphology and Postincubation Motility

Bronson

Oula

2007

Journal of Andrology

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“…In addition, it is well know that cooling and freezing conditions may induce damages to spermatozoan tails (Graham and Moce, 2005). However, the sperm atozoan morphology analysis has been an important parameter for semen evaluation and has been used to estimate fertility potential in many species (Ombelet et al, 1995;Verstegen et al, 2002;Zahalsky et al, 2003). The incapacity of spermatozoa to fertilise oocytes has been associated with morphologically abnormal spermatozoa (Amann et al, 1987;Hammer stedt et al, 1990).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of bovine spermatozoa viability using different cooling protocols prior to cryopreservation

Pereira¹,

Becker²,

Siqueira³

et al. 2010

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of different cooling rates on the post-thawing quality of bovine spermatozoa. Ejaculated semen from a 24-month-old Jersey bull was collected using an artificial vagina and diluted in a commercial extender to evaluate spermatozoan concentration and motility subjectively before cooling and freezing and after thawing. Straws were allocated to four cooling curves: rapid (RD), semi-rapid (SRD), semi-slow (SSLW) and slow (SLW). The temperature was decreased from 25ºC to 4ºC in 10, 50, 110 and 135 min, which represents a cooling rate of 2.06, 0.40, 0.18 and 0.15ºC/min, respectively. Then straws were frozen and stored at -196ºC. After thawing, one aliquot of each straw was used for evaluation. Spermatozoan integrity and mitochondrial function were evaluated using a combination of fluorescent probes containing 100 mg/mL FITC-PSA, 0.5 μg/mL PI and 153 μM JC-1. At the end of cooling, spermatozoan motility did not differ among RD (63.3%), SRD (66.7%), SSLW (66.7%) and SLW (80.0%). However, normal spermatozoan morphology was lower in SRD (84.8%) compared to RD (91.7%), SSLW (91.7%) and SLW (90.3%) (P<0.05). In thawed semen, spermatozoan motility and normal morphology did not differ among RD (40.0%; 88.8%), SRD (43.3%; 82.5%), SSLW (40.0%; 87.2%) and SLW (36.7%; 88.0%). The percentage of damaged spermatozoa, including plasma and acrosome membrane damage and low mitochondrial potential, was higher in RD compared to the others (P<0.05). In conclusion, a rapid cooling curve is detrimental to the spermatozoa and affects the post-thaw spermatozoan integrity of bovine frozen semen

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“…Some in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programs rely on the SPA to formulate their insemination plans in conjunction with IVF cycles [1,2]. Couples with normal SPA scores normally undergo conventional IVF insemination in contrast with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which is used for those with a diminished SPA.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of sperm penetration assay score with polyspermy rate in in-vitro fertilization

Aoki

Peterson

Parker-Jones

et al. 2005

J Exp Clin Assist Reprod

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BackgroundThe sperm penetration assay (SPA) is used to predict the fertilizing capacity of sperm. Thus, some programs rely on SPA scores to formulate insemination plans in conjunction with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a relationship exists between SPA scores and polyspermy rates during conventional IVF cycles.MethodsA total of 1350 consecutive IVF patients using conventional IVF insemination were evaluated in the study. Oocytes were inseminated three hours post-retrieval by the addition of 150,000 to 300,000 progressively motile sperm. Approximately 18 hours after insemination, the oocytes were evaluated for fertilization by the visualization of pronuclei. The presence of three or more pronuclei was indicative of polyspermy. Polyspermy rates, fertilization success, embryo quality, and pregnancy rates were analyzed retrospectively to evaluate their relationship with SPA score, count, motility, number of progressively motile sperm inseminated, oocyte pre-insemination incubation time, patient age, and diagnosis.ResultsA significant positive relationship was observed between SPA score and polyspermy rate (rs = 0.10, p < 0.05). Patients with a normal SPA score had significantly higher polyspermy rates than those with abnormal SPA scores (6.3% ± 1.5% vs. 2.0% ± 0.7%, p < 0.05). Fertilization percentage was significantly lower in the group with severely abnormal SPA scores versus all other SPA groups (57.5% ± 2.1% vs. 70.2% ± 1.3%, p < 0.005). Although embryo quality was not affected, both clinical pregnancy and implantation rates improved slightly as SPA score increased. In addition, there was a decrease in the rate of spontaneous abortion as SPA score increased.ConclusionsThese data indicate SPA score is positively correlated with polyspermy rates and IVF fertilization percentage. Additionally, there is a slight increase in clinical pregnancy rates, and embryo implantation rates with increased SPA. Furthermore, there is a slight decrease in spontaneous abortions rates related to increased SPA.

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Morphology and the sperm penetration assay

Cited by 13 publications

References 9 publications

Ability of Abnormally‐Shaped Human Spermatozoa to Adhere to and Penetrate Zona‐Free Hamster Eggs: Correlation With Sperm Morphology and Postincubation Motility

Ability of Abnormally‐Shaped Human Spermatozoa to Adhere to and Penetrate Zona‐Free Hamster Eggs: Correlation With Sperm Morphology and Postincubation Motility

Assessment of bovine spermatozoa viability using different cooling protocols prior to cryopreservation

Correlation of sperm penetration assay score with polyspermy rate in in-vitro fertilization

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