Review: The epic journey of sperm through the female reproductive tract

Miller, David J.

doi:10.1017/s1751731118000526

Cited by 54 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 149 publications

(154 reference statements)

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“…Sperm have to navigate their way from the site of deposition in the lower reproductive tract to the site of fertilisation in the ampulla of the oviduct 1 . While the location of semen deposition is species dependent, as well as varying between natural mating and artificial insemination, sperm have to make the tortuous journey of in excess of 1000-fold their length to the ampulla 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hyperactivated stallion spermatozoa fail to exhibit a rheotaxis-like behaviour, unlike other species

Romero-Aguirregomezcorta

Sugrue

Martínez-Fresneda

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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The journey of spermatozoa through the female genital tract is facilitated by rheotaxis, or the cell’s preference to swim against a flow, as well as thigmotaxis, the wall tracking behaviour, which guides them to the site of fertilisation. The aim of this study was to characterise the rheotactic and thigmotactic response of stallion sperm within a microfluidic channel. Stallion sperm rheotaxis was assessed within the microfluidic channel with regard to: (i) A range of flow velocities, (ii) Varying media viscosity and (iii) Sperm hyperactivation. Sperm distribution across the microfluidic channel was also studied and compared to human and ram sperm. Stallion sperm progressed furthest at a velocity range of 10–30 µm/s, with an optimum velocity of 20 µm/s. A flow viscosity of 2.5cP or greater reduced sperm rheotaxis (P < 0.05). Stallion sperm that were hyperactivated were unable to exhibit rheotaxis within the microfluidic channel, whereas, both hyperactivated human and ram sperm did exhibit positive rheotaxis under the same conditions. The number of sperm swimming near the microfluidic channel walls was higher than in the microfluidic channel centre (P < 0.05). This is the first study to illustrate that stallion sperm are rheotactically responsive and increasing viscosity reduces this response. We also demonstrated that sperm are predominantly inclined to swim along a surface and uniquely, hyperactivated stallion sperm are non-progressive and do not exhibit a rheotactic response unlike other species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hyperactivated stallion spermatozoa fail to exhibit a rheotaxis-like behaviour, unlike other species

Romero-Aguirregomezcorta

Sugrue

Martínez-Fresneda

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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show abstract

“…In species with internal fertilization, spermatozoa typically have to migrate through the female genital tract to reach and eventually fertilize eggs. On this long and challenging journey, spermatozoa face a highly complex and selective environment [1,2]. While the original adaptive function of such an environment was possibly rooted in pathogen defence, selection may have favoured any extension of sophisticated discrimination and control mechanisms of non-self cells to include control over sperm behaviour, and thereby, ultimately, fertilization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm velocity in a promiscuous bird across experimental media of different viscosities

et al. 2020

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In species with internal fertilization, the female genital tract appears challenging to sperm, possibly resulting from selection on for example ovarian fluid to control sperm behaviour and, ultimately, fertilization. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of swimming media viscosities on sperm performance. We quantified effects of media viscosities on sperm velocity in promiscuous willow warblers Phylloscopus trochilus . We used both a reaction norm and a character-state approach to model phenotypic plasticity of sperm behaviour across three experimental media of different viscosities. Compared with a standard medium (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium, DMEM), media enriched with 1% or 2% w/v methyl cellulose decreased sperm velocity by up to about 50%. Spermatozoa from experimental ejaculates of different males responded similarly to different viscosities, and a lack of covariance between elevations and slopes of individual velocity-by-viscosity reaction norms indicated that spermatozoa from high- and low-velocity ejaculates were slowed down by a similar degree when confronted with high-viscosity environments. Positive cross-environment (1% versus 2% cellulose) covariances of sperm velocity under the character-state approach suggested that sperm performance represents a transitive trait, with rank order of individual ejaculates maintained when expressed against different environmental backgrounds. Importantly, however, a lack of significant covariances in sperm velocity involving a cellulose concentration of 0% indicated that pure DMEM represented a qualitatively different environment, questioning the validity of this widely used standard medium for assaying sperm performance. Enriching sperm environments along ecologically relevant gradients prior to assessing sperm performance will strengthen explanatory power of in vitro studies of sperm behaviour.

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“…However, the predictive value for fertility is limited if the semen quality is not extremely affected [8]. Other factors, such as the integrity of the sperm DNA, chemical and immunological factors in the seminal fluid, the ability to respond to stimuli in the female tract and multiple unknown factors play a role in fertilization [9][10][11]. Only human spermatozoa with an intact acrosome that are capable of undergoing acrosome reaction can penetrate the zona pellucida and fertilize the oocyte [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Acrosomal Status of Density Purified Spermatozoa Differentiates Men from Couples in IVF and ICSI Treatment and Is Associated with Fecundity

Norup

Palme²,

Petersen

et al. 2020

JCM

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The acrosome of the spermatozoa is required for fertilization and in the raw ejaculate the percentage of viable acrosome-intact spermatozoa, the acrosomal status, is higher among men with good semen quality. Here we investigated if the acrosomal status of the processed semen preparations used at a fertility clinic can also be informative and whether it is associated with fecundity. The acrosomal status was measured by image cytometry on purified semen samples from couples during in vitro fertilization (IVF) (n = 99) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (n = 107) treatment. Purified frozen-thawed donor samples were also analyzed (n = 199). In purified semen preparations the acrosomal status was significantly higher among sperm donors (p = 5.3 × 10−8) and men from IVF couples (p = 2.2 × 10−5) when compared to men from ICSI couples. A significant difference was also found between female, male and mixed factor infertility (p = 0.003). No association with lifestyle factors was found. In frozen-thawed donor samples, a significant positive (r = 0.16, p = 0.025) association with the number of pregnancies per sold straw was observed together with an area under the curve of 75.3%, when comparing the top and bottom deciles. Our results indicate that the acrosomal status may be a valuable parameter for personalizing fertility treatments and might be a good predictor of pregnancy success among normozoospermic men.

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Review: The epic journey of sperm through the female reproductive tract

Cited by 54 publications

References 149 publications

Hyperactivated stallion spermatozoa fail to exhibit a rheotaxis-like behaviour, unlike other species

Hyperactivated stallion spermatozoa fail to exhibit a rheotaxis-like behaviour, unlike other species

Sperm velocity in a promiscuous bird across experimental media of different viscosities

The Acrosomal Status of Density Purified Spermatozoa Differentiates Men from Couples in IVF and ICSI Treatment and Is Associated with Fecundity

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