The male gametophytes of gymnosperms are characterized by the diversities in pollen morphology, cellular composition and pattern of cell division, pollen tube morphology, sperm delivery, growth pattern through the ovule and nucellus, and pollen tube wall composition both within and among the four living orders, i.e., Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Coniferales, and Gnetales. At dehiscence, gymnosperm po...

Adriamycin (ADR), an anticancer drug which induces testicular toxicity, was administrated to Slc:SD male rats at doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg intravenously once a week for 4 weeks. The males treated with ADR were mated with untreated females, and sperm analyses (motion, count, and morphology) were performed. Sperm motion was analyzed by Hamilton-Thorne Sperm analyzer (HTM-IVOS) to investiga...

Background: Sperm storage via freezing has been useful for men who have difficulty masturbating during assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs and before impotency caused by chemotherapy, vasectomy, and other procedures. Studies were undertaken to evaluate the extent of cryoinjury to both semen and sperm after repeated freezing and thawing in oligozoospermic and normozoospermic samples ...

BACKGROUND The incidence of overweight and obesity in men of reproductive ages is rising, which may affect fertility. Therefore, this study aims to assess the associations between BMI, central adiposity and sperm parameters in men of subfertile couples. METHODS Ejaculate volume (ml), sperm concentration (millions per ml), percentage of progressive motile and immotile spermatozoa and total mot...

OBJECTIVE Comparison of human sperm motility, morphology, and sperm membrane integrity using two cryoprotective media, Test-yolk buffer with glycerol and glycerol alone. METHODS Semen samples from 10 healthy donors were divided and frozen with either glycerol or a combination of glycerol and TEST-yolk buffer. Semen characteristics were evaluated before freezing and after thawing. Motility was...

It is now understood that protein ubiquitination has diverse cellular functions in eukaryotes. The molecular mechanism and physiological significance of ubiquitin-mediated processes have been extensively studied in yeast, Drosophila and mammalian somatic cells. Moreover, an increasing number of studies have emphasized the importance of ubiquitination in spermatogenesis and fertilization. The dy...

The relationship between the three basic parameters of ejaculated spermatozoa, i.e. concentration, motility and morphology, and the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were investigated in 838 microinjection cycles. A further 123 ICSI treatment cycles in which testicular spermatozoa were used for microinjection were also evaluated. The influence of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) on ...

Background: Following the expansion of human infertility, different procedures have been utilized for separation of normal sperm during ICSI (Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection). Hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) is one of the tests which have been introduced for assessment of integrity of sperm membrane when confronted with hypo osmotic condition. This test may also reflect intracellular organe...

The various sperm cell types present in a simple ejaculate differ in their motility and morphology. However, little is known about the nuclear maturity of these sperm cells and their relationship with morphological and motile characteristics. Protamines are considered a good marker of sperm nuclear maturity since they are added to the DNA in the last stage of spermatogenesis. We have analyzed t...

This study of male reproductive health in the Czech Republic resulted from community concern about potential adverse effects of air pollution. We compared young men (18 years of age) living in Teplice, a highly industrialized district with seasonally elevated levels of air pollution, to those from Prachatice, a rural district with relatively clean air. Surveys were scheduled for either late win...