Ejaculates (n=344) were collected from 35 Polish Landrace boars. The ejaculates were assigned to one of four groups according to the total number of spermatozoa in an ejaculate. Morphometrical measurements of spermatozoa with proper morphology were performed. Spermatozoa with smaller head length and head area were found in ejaculates with the greatest total sperm number (more than 120 x 10(9) s...

Lepidopteran males produce eupyrene (nucleate) and apyrene (anucleate) spermatozoa, but in the female only eupyrene spermatozoa leave the spermatheca and fertilize the eggs. Both kinds of spermatozoa lack intrinsic motility in the male genital duct. They become motile in the spermatophore, in a process involving proteases from the male duct. In vitro, trypsin induces immotile spermatozoa to bec...

AIM To investigate whether early apoptotic changes in spermatozoa can be significant markers for sperm quality. METHODS Two early apoptotic changes in the semen of 56 men were assessed using Annexin V (AN)/propidium iodide (PI) staining for phosphatidylserine externalization and JC-1 staining for mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The results were compared with conventional semen paramet...

PURPOSE Sperm immobilization factor isolated from Staphylococcus aureus immobilizes human spermatozoa as well as motile bacteria, showing that sperm immobilization factor receptor might be shared by bacteria and human spermatozoa. Thus, we sought to identify a common sperm immobilization factor binding receptor on spermatozoa and bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sperm immobilization factor was...

This study sought to compare the in vitro characteristics of fresh and frozen non-sorted (NS) and sex-sorted (SS) bull spermatozoa. Experiment 1: Holstein-Friesian ejaculates (n=10 bulls) were split across four treatments and processed: (1) NS fresh at 3×106 spermatozoa, (2) X-SS frozen at 2×106 spermatozoa, (3) X-SS fresh at 2×106 spermatozoa and (4) X-SS fresh at 1×106 spermatozoa. NS frozen ...

BACKGROUND Although mouse spermatozoa can be freeze-dried without losing their reproductive capacity, the technique needs further improvements to reduce the incidence of chromosomal damage to spermatozoa. Effects of freeze-drying on human spermatozoa are unknown. METHODS Mouse spermatozoa were suspended in a Tris-buffered EGTA solution briefly (10 min at 37 degrees C) or for 1-7 days at 4 deg...

The objective of the present study was to analyse the influence of motility on the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) when testicular spermatozoa are used for microinjection and to correlate this with testicular histology. A total of 197 ICSI treatment cycles (167 couples) was analysed retrospectively in which testicular spermatozoa were used, because of complete azoospermia, fo...

This study describes the morphological, morphometric and ultrastructural characteristics of the Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis (Natterer, 1883) spermatozoon. The spermatozoa were obtained from a urine sample of an adult T. inunguis kept in captivity. The spermatozoa were analyzed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The head of Amazonian manatee spermatozoa had a flat oval shap...

Aneuploidy commonly causes spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and aneuploid births in humans. Notably, the majority of sex chromosome aneuploidies in live births have a paternal origin. An increased frequency of aneuploidy is also associated with male infertility. However, the dynamics and behavior of aneuploid spermatozoa during fertilization in humans have not been studied in detail. Therefo...

The oviduct occupies a unique position in mammalian reproduction as the site of sperm transport, the final maturation of sperm and egg, fertilization, and the initial development of the embryo. This dissertation examines the factors that control the number, distribution and physiological state of spermatozoa in the oviduct. The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) was used as the animal model....