The association between sperm head elongation and semen quality

Abstract

Background: Previous studies suggested that sperm head shape may serve as an effective indicator of semen quality. However, there lacks research with large sample and quantitative measurement. Objectives: The objective of this retrospective study was to explore the association between sperm head elongation (Width/Length ratio) and routine semen parameters. Materials and methods: From January 2012 to December 2017, 63 866 semen samples were collected from male subjects at 18-60 years of age. Sperm head elongation and routine semen parameters (semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, etc.) were examined with computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) systems in order to evaluate the association between elongation and semen quality. Results: Logistic and linear regression models showed that the value of elongation is negatively correlated with sperm concentration, total sperm count, progressive motility, total motility, percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa, and acrosin activity (all p < 0.001). Discussion: The results suggested that higher value of elongation is generally associated with higher risks of abnormality in semen quality. The importance of elongation may be explained by abnormal acrosin activity in the round-headed spermatozoa, which has been reported to cause failure of natural pregnancy. Conclusions: This study provides a new insight into the sperm head shape, which may be used as a complementary parameter in clinical semen examination and academic research.

Effect of anisosmotic stress on the structural and functional integrity of the plasma and acrosomal membrane of ram sperm

“…In light of the findings made in sheep, the idea is still maintained that any damage to the MA would cause its contentive enzymes to be released, preventing fertilization, so that, as mentioned above, if the percentage of these alterations is high, it can cause a decrease in fertility (Rubio-Guillén, 2006;Díaz et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2019). Furthermore, if it is known that this structure is one of the most affected after cryopreservation (Hammersedt et al, 1990;Rubio-Guillén et al, 2009;Díaz et al, 2012;Hernández et al, 2012).…”

“…In cattle experiments, the induction of the acrosome reaction with the ionophore A23187 was marginally correlated with in vivo fertility (Januskauskas et al, 2000). It can be hypothesized that the length of the sperm head may be related to the presence of an intact acrosome (Chen et al, 2019). In contrast, it has been correlated with the sperm morphometry of subpopulations that showed high fertility, when compared with their contemporaries who presented con reacción acrosomal previa al contacto con la ZP 3 presentan afinidad por penetración a esta membrana glicoprotéica (Jin et al, 2011).…”

“…A la luz de los hallazgos hechos en ovinos, se sigue manteniendo la idea que, cualquier daño en la MA provocaría que se liberen sus enzimas contentivas, impidiendo la fecundación, de forma que, como se mencionó anteriormente, si el porcentaje de estas alteraciones es elevado, puede provocar un descenso de la fertilidad (Rubio-Guillén, 2006;Díaz et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2019). Más aún, si se sabe que esta estructura es una de las mayormente afectadas luego de la criopreservación (Hammersedt et al, 1990;Rubio-Guillén et al, 2009;Díaz et al, 2012;Hernández et al, 2012).…”

“…En experiencias con vacunos, la inducción de la reacción acrosómica con el ionóforo A23187 fue correlacionada marginalmente con la fertilidad in vivo (Januskauskas et al, 2000). Se puede hipotetizar que el largo de la cabeza espermática puede ser relacionado con la presencia de un acrosoma intacto (Chen et al, 2019). En contraparte, se ha correlacionado con la morfometría espermática de subpoblaciones que mostraron una fertilidad alta, al compararlo con sus coetáneos que presentaban fertilidades medias y bajas (Rubio-Guillén, 2006).…”

Sperm morphometry is affected by increased inbreeding in the Retinta cattle breed: A molecular approach

“…Additionally, they also fit with a previous kinematic characterization of Retinta bulls showing that sperm from inbred individuals swam more rapidly and were less fertile (Dorado et al, 2017). On the contrary, Chen et al (2019) recently associated a raise in p2a with decreased sperm motility in human beings. Such contradictory results suggest the existence of additional mechanisms that can limit the sperm morphometry effect on motility.…”