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Sperm motility

About: Sperm motility is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13874 publications have been published within this topic receiving 416587 citations. The topic is also known as: sperm movement & GO:0097722.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Investigating the presence and function of acrosomal glycosidases capable of removing the GalTase-binding site from zona pellucida glycoproteins demonstrated that beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase is found in sperm acrosomes and is released during the acrosome reaction, at which time it facilitates sperm penetration through the zona.
Abstract: Fertilization in the mouse is initiated by sperm beta 1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalTase) binding to terminal N-acetylglucosamine residues on the zona pellucida glycoprotein ZP3. Binding of ZP3 induces exocytosis of the sperm acrosome, whose contents are believed to digest a penetration slit in the zona matrix through which sperm reach the egg. As a consequence of acrosomal exocytosis, GalTase is redistributed to the lateral aspect of the sperm head, where its function remains unknown. In this location, GalTase could conceivably impede zona penetration by binding to N-acetylglucosamine residues exposed on zona pellucida glycoproteins. Therefore, in this study we investigated the presence and function of acrosomal glycosidases capable of removing the GalTase-binding site from zona pellucida glycoproteins. beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase was found at very high levels in sperm, being more than 20-fold higher than other glycosidases assayed. The specific isozymic variant was identified as beta-hexosaminidase B. beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase was localized to sperm acrosomes by biochemical and indirect immunofluorescence studies and was released during the acrosome reaction, as expected for an enzyme involved in zona penetration. To determine if, in fact, acrosomal beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase facilitated penetration through the zona, an assay was developed using eggs that were rendered incapable of triggering the block to polyspermy. A specific competitive inhibitor of beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase activity, PUGNAC, inhibited sperm penetration of the zona in a dose-dependent manner, whereas a closely related beta-glucosidase inhibitor, PUGLU, had no effect on zona penetration or on beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase activity. Neither glycosidase inhibitor affected sperm motility or induction of the acrosome reaction. These results demonstrate that beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase is found in sperm acrosomes and is released during the acrosome reaction, at which time it facilitates sperm penetration through the zona. These results also imply that sperm have developed mechanisms to prevent the formation of stable interactions between surface receptors and their zona pellucida ligands during penetration.

143 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The model accurately classifies motility profiles of sperm from a mutant mouse model with severe motility defects, and provides a rapid and reproducible platform for quantitative comparisons of motility in large, heterogeneous populations of mouse sperm.
Abstract: Vigorous sperm motility, including the transition from progressive to hyperactivated motility that occurs in the female reproductive tract, is required for normal fertilization in mammals. We developed an automated, quantitative method that objectively classifies five distinct motility patterns of mouse sperm using Support Vector Machines (SVM), a common method in supervised machine learning. This multiclass SVM model is based on more than 2000 sperm tracks that were captured by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) during in vitro capacitation and visually classified as progressive, intermediate, hyperactivated, slow, or weakly motile. Parameters associated with the classified tracks were incorporated into established SVM algorithms to generate a series of equations. These equations were integrated into a binary decision tree that sequentially sorts uncharacterized tracks into distinct categories. The first equation sorts CASA tracks into vigorous and nonvigorous categories. Additional equations classify vigorous tracks as progressive, intermediate, or hyperactivated and nonvigorous tracks as slow or weakly motile. Our CASAnova software uses these SVM equations to classify individual sperm motility patterns automatically. Comparisons of motility profiles from sperm incubated with and without bicarbonate confirmed the ability of the model to distinguish hyperactivated patterns of motility that develop during in vitro capacitation. The model accurately classifies motility profiles of sperm from a mutant mouse model with severe motility defects. Application of the model to sperm from multiple inbred strains reveals strain-dependent differences in sperm motility profiles. CASAnova provides a rapid and reproducible platform for quantitative comparisons of motility in large, heterogeneous populations of mouse sperm.

143 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Coadministration of vitamin E with mercuric chloride prevented the changes in sperm and biochemical parameters and was associated with control rates of sperm positive smears after cohabitation and has a protective role against mercury-induced male reproductive toxicity.

143 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that the normal swim-up technique caused no more DNA damage to spermatozoa from normal semen samples than a direct swim- up technique that involved no centrifugation step.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Swim-up techniques for sperm separation may have detrimental effects on sperm DNA. We wished to determine whether the normal swim-up method with centrifugation used in our laboratory, which involves a centrifugation step, was harmful to sperm compared with swim-up without centrifugation. METHODS: Semen samples were obtained from patients undergoing IVF or andrology assessment. An aliquot was removed for fixation and subsequent DNA fragmentation determination. The remaining sample was divided into two equal parts, which were subjected to swim-up either with (normal swim-up) or without (direct-swim-up) centrifugation. Semen analysis was performed both before and after swim-up. DNA fragmentation, in spermatozoa previously fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, was assessed by the terminal transferase-mediated DNA end-labelling procedure (TUNEL). The percentage of spermatozoa with DNA damage after each swim-up technique was compared with that in the original semen sample. RESULTS: DNA damage was <5% in most samples. No significant change in DNA fragmentation was observed between the two swim-up procedures, although the ‘normal’ swim-up sample had significantly less DNA fragmentation than the pre-swim-up sample. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that our normal swim-up technique caused no more DNA damage to spermatozoa from normal semen samples than a direct swim-up technique that involved no centrifugation step.

143 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Gossypol acetic acid administered orally at 30 mg/kg body weight/day for five weeks inhibited the fertility of male rats without an apparent loss of libido, and degeneration in the tail region of epididymal spermatozoa revealed.
Abstract: Gossypol acetic acid administered orally at 30 mg/kg body weight/day for five weeks inhibited the fertility of male rats without an apparent loss of libido. Sperm in the ejaculate were rendered immotile and were reduced in number. Serum testosterone and LH were reduced significantly from pretreatment values, whereas FSH values were not altered. Leydig cells from treated animals produced less testosterone than did control Leydig cells when incubated with LH. Furthermore, testosterone production by normal Leydig cells that were incubated with LH and gossypol was inversely related to gossypol concentration. Ultrastructural examination of epididymal spermatozoa revealed degeneration in the tail region, particularly in the mitochondrial sheath of the middle piece. Within the seminiferous epithelium, late spermatids displayed a similar degeneration, although not as severe. After a six-week recovery period, normal fertility was re-established and normal litters were produced. Sperm motility and number, serum testosterone and LH levels, and sperm structure all returned to normal.

143 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023383
2022912
2021582
2020616
2019552
2018576