BACKGROUND Recent studies have reported the negative impact of hydrosalpinx on IVF outcome. Toxic effects of hydrosalpinx fluid (HF) have been the main reason for the recommendation of functional surgery, salpingectomy, prior to IVF. The present study characterized hydrosalpinx epithelial cell culture and examined the effects of its conditioned medium (CM) on sperm motility, acrosome reaction a...

motion analysis and quality assessment of human sperm cell is of great importance for clinical applications of male infertility. sperm tracking is quite complex due to cell collision, occlusion and missed detection. the goal of this study is simultaneous tracking of multiple human sperm cells. in the first step in this research the frame difference algorithm is used for background subtraction. ...

BACKGROUND Sperm cell death appears to be a cause of male infertility. The objective of this study was to determine the most reliable method for the evaluation of sperm quality in semen samples during sperm preparation for IVF. METHODS Conventional analysis of semen samples was compared with several cytofluorometric methods detecting death-associated changes. Neat semen from infertile patient...

Plasma membrane-anchored proteases have key roles in cell signaling, migration and refashioning the cell surface and its surroundings. We report the first example of a plasma membrane-anchored protease on mature sperm, testase 1 (ADAM 24). Unlike other studied sperm ADAMs (fertilin alpha and beta, cyritestin) whose metalloprotease domains are removed during sperm development, we found testase 1...

In contrast to animals, the plant male germline is established after meiosis in distinctive haploid structures, termed pollen grains. The germline arises by a distinct asymmetric division of the meiotic products . The fates of the resulting vegetative and generative cells are distinct. In contrast to the larger vegetative cell, arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, the smaller generative ...

The normal structure and function of sperm are prerequisites for successful fertilization and embryonic development, but little is known about how defective sperm are eliminated during mammalian spermatogenesis. Here, we describe a ubiquitin-dependent, sperm quality control mechanism that resides in the mammalian epididymis, the site of sperm maturation and storage. We used immunofluorescence, ...

The most effective method to control the sex of offspring is by separating X- from Y-bearing sperm on the basis of their DNA content. Sperm can be stained with Hoechst 33342 and efficiently sexed using a flow cytometer/cell sorter. However, applying this established assay to cryopreserved bovine sperm presents specific problems, such as broad fluorescence distributions without a distinct X- and...

With the fast advancement in the genetics and bio-medical fields, the vast number of valuable transgenic and rare genetic mouse models need to be preserved. Preservation of mouse sperm by convective drying and subsequent storing at above freezing temperatures could dramatically reduce the cost and facilitate shipping. Mouse sperm were convectively dried under nitrogen gas in the Na-EGTA solutio...

When a sperm and an oocyte unite upon fertilization, their cell membranes adhere and fuse, but little is known about the factors regulating sperm-oocyte adhesion. Here we explored the role of β-catenin in sperm-oocyte adhesion. Biochemical analysis revealed that E-cadherin and β-catenin formed a complex in oocytes and also in sperm. Sperm-oocyte adhesion was impaired when β-catenin-deficient oo...

The increase in population growth rate warrants the development of additional contraceptive methods that are widely acceptable, free from side effects and less expensive. Immunocontraception, and in particular the targeting of antibodies to gamete-specific antigens implicated in sperm egg binding and fertilization, offers an attractive approach to control fertility. The development of a contrac...