Prediction of fertilization in vitro with human gametes: Is there a litmus test?
TL;DR: The influence of sperm morphologic pattern as a prognosticator of fertilization outcome is established in major part as a determinant of sperm binding ability to the zona pellucida and the hemizona assay provides a robust index that is highly predictive of the potential of human gametes to achieve fertilization and highlights its use in infertility and contraception testing.
About: This article is published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.The article was published on 1992-12-01. It has received 59 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Human fertilization & Sperm.
Citations
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TL;DR: The possible roles of cryoprotectants and additives are considered in the context of their putative interactions with the sperm plasma membrane and modern approaches to the laboratory assessment of spermatozoa after freeze-thawing are discussed.
648 citations
TL;DR: Spermatozoa from infertile men display translocation of membrane phosphatidylserine as diagnosed by annexin V positive staining, and there is a relationship between DNA damage and oxidative stress.
Abstract: UNLABELLED The objectives of this cross-sectional observational study were: (i) to detect DNA damage and plasma membrane translocation of phosphatidylserine in purified sperm populations of high and low motility, and (ii) to analyse their relationship with the endogenous generation of reactive oxygen species. Ejaculates from infertile men were examined following gradient centrifugation. The main outcome measures were: sperm motion parameters (assessed with a computer analyser), generation of reactive oxygen species (measured by chemiluminescence), DNA damage (detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUDP nick-end labelling and monoclonal antibody labelling of single-stranded DNA) and translocation of membrane phosphatidylserine (examined with annexin V staining). DNA fragmentation and membrane translocation of phosphatidyl-serine were observed in the fractions with low and high sperm motility in all patients. The fractions with low sperm motility had significantly higher proportion of cells with DNA damage and production of reactive oxygen species than the fractions with high sperm motility (P < 0.005). DNA fragmentation was significantly and positively correlated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (r = 0.42; P = 0.02). IN CONCLUSION (i) spermatozoa from infertile men display translocation of membrane phosphatidylserine as diagnosed by annexin V positive staining; (ii) DNA damage (fragmentation and presence of single-stranded DNA) can be detected in ejaculated spermatozoa from infertile men in fractions with low and high sperm motility, and (iii) there is a relationship between DNA damage and oxidative stress.
475 citations
Cites background from "Prediction of fertilization in vitr..."
...Such sperm–zona pellucida binding dysfunction, alone or in association with other defects, leads to aSergio Oehninger1 failed or sub-optimal fertilizing capacity (Liu and Gordon The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Baker, 1992; Oehninger et al., 1992, 1997)....
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TL;DR: Results demonstrate that fertility information can be derived from the CASA analysis of boar semen provided it is combined with a period of incubation in capacitating conditions.
Abstract: Two fertility trials were undertaken to evaluate the relationship between boar semen quality and fertility (conception rate and litter size) after on-farm artificial insemination (AI). Trial 1 included 98 ejaculates from 27 boars, and trial 2 included 72 ejaculates from 26 boars. The semen quality was measured by computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) using the Hobson Sperm Tracker. Boar semen was diluted in a standard extender (Beltsville Thawing Solution, BTS), dispensed into 75 ml allquots each containing 1.5 x 10(9) spermatozoa and dispatched to farms by overnight mail for use by their normal AI procedures. Randomly selected 75 ml aliquots of semen from each boar were also sent to the institute of Zoology for CASA measurement. Prior to CASA analysis, the spermatozoa were recovered from the BTS using Percoll gradients, resuspended in trisbuffered saline media containing 40 mM Ca++, and incubated at 39 degrees C. Parameters of sperm motion were measured after 0, 2, 4, and 6 hours of incubation. Various multiple regression models based on measured motion parameters could account for up to 24% of the variation in litter size. Using logistic regression, highly significant (P < 0.0001) models explaining conception rate in terms of sperm motion were derived for trial 2 only. The change in sperm velocity during the first 2 hours of incubation and the magnitude of the velocity parameters after 2 hours were identified as the most consistent indicators of fertility. Other attributes of sperm quality, i.e., frequency of spontaneous acrosome reactions (AR) and ARs induced by ionophore A23187 or solubilized pig zona pellucida, were also examined. When the "within-trial" median litter size was used as a way of allocating ejaculates to "high" or "low" litter-size groups, higher litter size was associated with lower frequency of both spontaneous and induced AR. These results demonstrate that fertility information can be derived from the CASA analysis of boar semen provided it is combined with a period of incubation in capacitating conditions.
298 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a prospectively designed study was conducted to compare a fertile and a subfertile population so as to define normal values for different semen parameters, including sperm morphology.
Abstract: This prospectively designed study was conducted to compare a fertile and a subfertile population so as to define normal values for different semen parameters. Semen analyses were performed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, except for sperm morphology (strict criteria). In the fertile population (n = 144), all patients had recently achieved pregnancy, within 12 months of unprotected coitus. As subfertile controls we examined semen samples from 143 consecutive men attending our infertility clinic during the same study period. Couples with tubal factor infertility and/or ovulatory disorders were excluded from our study. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis we determined the diagnostic potential and cut-off values for single and combined sperm parameters. Sperm morphology scored best, with a value of 78% (area under the ROC curve). Summary statistics showed a shift towards abnormality for most semen parameters in the subfertile population. Using the 10th percentile of the fertile population as the cut-off value, the following results were obtained: 14.3 x 10(6)/ml for sperm concentration, 28% for progressive motility and 5% for sperm morphology. Using ROC analysis, cut-off values were 34 x 10(6)/ml, 45% and 10% respectively. Cut-off values for normality were different from those described in the WHO guidelines. Routine bacterial and non-bacterial cultures turned out to be of little prognostic value.
211 citations
TL;DR: Strict morphology is an excellent biomarker of sperm fertilizing capacity, independent of motility and concentration and may denote a poorer prognosis for establishing a pregnancy, even after a satisfactory fertilization rate is achieved.
173 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a prospective study in women with bilateral tubal damage to determine whether there is a prognostic value in the percentage normal sperm morphologic features in a human in vitro fertilization (IVF) program.
1,153 citations
TL;DR: By evaluating sperm morphology with the proposed strict criteria, its predictive value in in vitro fertilization is enhanced.
1,095 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that zona-free hamster ova can be substituted for human ova in the preliminary assessment of the fertilizing capacity of human spermatozoa.
Abstract: The zona-free hamster ovum was evaluated as a substitute for human o va in the assessment of the fertilizing capacity of human spermatozoa. Zona-intact ova completely resisted sperm penetration. Using nonpreincu bated spermatozoa sperm penetration of zona-free ova began 4-5 hours after insemination. However when spermatozoa were preincubated in a modified Krebs-Ringer solution for 4 hours sperm penetration began within 1 hour. There is some evidence that this is associated with the completion of sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction. The results suggest that zona-free hamster ova can be substituted for human ova in the preliminary assessment of the fertilizing capacity of human spermatozoa.
871 citations
TL;DR: Sperm from fertile men exhibited significantly higher binding capacity to hemizonae compared with sperm from men who had fertilization failure during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, demonstrating that the HZA may be a useful diagnostic tool in male infertility evaluations.
390 citations