Semen

About: Semen is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 14571 publications have been published within this topic receiving 407739 citations. The topic is also known as: come & ejaculate.

Non-surgical intrauterine artificial insemination in bitches using frozen semen.

Abstract: A total of 46 bitches were inseminated directly into the uterus using non-surgical insemination procedures; the technique used in six bitches involved specially designed metal catheters and abdominal fixation of the cervix, whereas the remainder were inseminated by passing a flexible plastic catheter through the cervix using direct endoscopic visualization to facilitate the process. Twenty-seven bitches were inseminated with semen frozen at the clinic; the remainder were inseminated with imported semen. Insemination timing was based on endoscopic assessment of the vaginal mucosa, vaginal cytology and blood progesterone concentration determined using a rapid, qualitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Each bitch received between 50 x 10(6) and 200 x 10(6) total spermatozoa per insemination; post-thaw motility varied from 10 to 80%. Two inseminations were performed 48 h apart in the majority of bitches. An overall pregnancy rate of 80% (37/46) was obtained with a mean litter size of 5 +/- 3.14. Subsequent pregnancy rates were comparable for both techniques and both were considered to be effective methods of inseminating frozen semen. Considerably fewer spermatozoa were inseminated in many of these bitches than have previously been reported. In a series of seven bitches using the semen from one dog, each bitch received two inseminations of 30-35 x 10(6) live normal spermatozoa per insemination. A pregnancy rate of 85% (6/7) and a mean litter size of 7.8 was achieved. Rapid ELISA progesterone kits were used to identify the optimum time for insemination.

Motility characteristics and membrane integrity of cryopreserved human spermatozoa.

Abstract: The motility characteristics of washed spermatozoa from 50 normal ejaculates were measured by time-lapse photography, before and after cryopreservation. Plasma membrane integrity was assessed by the hypo-osmotic swelling test and with the supravital fluorescent dye bisbenzimide (H33258). There was a marked decline in the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa after cryopreservation, the extent varying widely among donors. Results were, however, consistent between different ejaculates from the same individual. The ability of spermatozoa to survive cryopreservation could not be predicted from the properties of the semen beforehand. The mean velocity of the spermatozoa was significantly reduced after freezing, but the lateral head displacement was unaltered. There was a significant reduction in the proportion of spermatozoa with intact plasma membranes after cryopreservation and the results of the hypo-osmotic swelling test and H33258 tests correlated closely. There was no correlation between the declines in the percentage of motile spermatozoa, or intact spermatozoa and the sperm velocity. We conclude that membrane rupture is not the sole cause of loss of motile spermatozoa during freezing and that the decrease in the proportion of motile spermatozoa is caused, at least in part, by a separate process from that responsible for the decrease in the average swimming speed of spermatozoa.

First recorded pregnancy and normal birth after ICSI using electrophoretically isolated spermatozoa

Abstract: BACKGROUND: DNA damage in the male germ line is associated with poor fertilization and cleavage rates, impaired embryo quality and early pregnancy loss. Given these associations, embryologists are keen to develop techniques that will allow the selection of viable spermatozoa exhibiting low levels of DNA damage for assisted conception purposes. METHODS: In this article, we describe a novel electrophoretic approach for the rapid isolation of cells possessing little DNA damage. The limits of the method were examined using cryostored and snap-frozen semen samples as well as testicular biopsy material. In addition, clinical utility was demonstrated in a case study involving treatment of a patient exhibiting persistently high levels of DNA damage in his spermatozoa. RESULTS: From a range of difficult starting materials (biopsies, cryostored semen and snap-frozen sperm suspensions), the electrophoretic system rapidly isolated populations of motile, viable, morphologically normal spermatozoa exhibiting high levels of DNA integrity. Clinical application in a couple suffering from long-term infertility associated with extensive DNA damage in the male germ line led to the first human pregnancy following such electrophoretic sperm isolation. CONCLUSIONS: The electrophoretic procedure holds promise as a convenient method for the rapid preparation of high-quality spermatozoa for assisted conception purposes.