The combination of laser tweezers, fluorescent imaging, and real-time automated tracking and trapping (RATTS) can measure sperm swimming speed and swimming force simultaneously with mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). This approach is used to study the roles of two sources of ATP in sperm motility: oxidative phosphorylation, which occurs in the mitochondria located in the sperm midpiece and...

Cannabinoids and endocannabinoids negatively influence sperm functions. These substances have been demonstrated in many mammalian tissues, including male and female reproductive tracts, and previous studies have shown the presence of functional receptors for cannabinoids in human sperm. The present study, by means of RT-PCR and Western blot techniques, demonstrates that human sperm express the ...

background: human sperm cryopreservation has proven to be very valuable. cryopreservation has effects on function, morphology and percentage of fertilization capacity of human sperm. also, it has been revealed that cryopreservation has a role in sperm dna fragmentation and infertility. in this study, viability, motility, dna fragmentation and for the first time, intracellular nitric oxide asses...

STUDY QUESTION Does antimicrobial peptide, LL-37, inhibit sperm fertilizing ability? SUMMARY ANSWER Our results indicate that LL-37 inhibits mouse and human sperm fertilizing ability. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY LL-37, a cationic antimicrobial peptide, exerts its microbicidal effects through the disruption of microbial cytoplasmic membranes following its interaction with microbial surface anionic...

introduction: the novel development of the (hba) sperm- hyaluronan binding assay has now been routinely used in some laboratories worldwide to predict sperm maturity and functionality. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between hba score and histone deficiency, protamine content and dna fragmentation. methods: during april- march 2012 patients who were enrolled at shiraz-...

Sperm tests provide a direct and effective way of identifying chemical agents that induce spermatogenic damage in man. Four human sperm tests are available: sperm count, motility, morphology (seminal cytology) and the Y-body test. These sperm tests have numerous advantages over other approaches for assessing spermatogenic damage, and they have already been used to assess the effects of at least...

BACKGROUND For human ICSI, sperm are normally immobilized immediately prior to injection. However, there are some situations when only sperm of questionable viability are available. There are few evaluations of fertilization or developmental problems in human or animal models using sperm having known intervals between immobilization and injection. METHODS Immobilized human sperm were maintain...

BACKGROUND The transient receptor potential channel (TRP) family includes more than 30 proteins; they participate in various Ca(2+) dependent processes. TRPs are functionally diverse involving thermal, chemical and mechanical transducers which modulate the concentration of intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]i). Ca(2+) triggers and/or regulates principal sperm functions during fertilization such as m...

There is a fundamental body of evidence suggesting that activated apoptosis signaling in ejaculated human sperm negatively influences their fertilization potential. However, it is still controversial whether this apoptotic signaling is a relic of an abortive apoptosis related to spermatogenesis or if it should be regarded as a functional preformed pathway in mature sperm leading to stereotypica...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the effect of culture medium osmolality, in the range known to occur in the male and female reproductive tracts, on human sperm tyrosine phosphorylation and sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) interaction in vitro. METHODS Motile sperm (2x10(6)), selected by swim-up from semen of normozoospermic men with normal sperm-ZP binding, were incubated with or w...