This study aimed to investigate the relation between the testicular sperm assay (TESA) and sex hormone level or testicular volume in patients with azoospermia induced by mumps. Samples from 52 patients with mumps-induced azoospermia were subjected to TESA, and then the sperm activity was observed microscopically. The sex hormone level was detected with an electrochemical assay, and ultrasound w...

Assaying the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) activity in sperm is of great importance because it is closely implicated in sperm motility and male infertility. While a number of studies on GSK3 activity have relied on labor-intensive immunoblotting to identify phosphorylated GSK3, here we report the simple and rapid detection of GSK3 activity in mouse sperm using conventional agarose gel elect...

Introduction: The amount of expression of BAX and BCL-2 genes in infertile men’s sperm as well as its association with sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation index is an issue which has not been studied yet. In this research, it is assumed that up-regulation of BAX and downregulation of BCL-2 are directly associated with sperm DNA fragmentation. Methods: After obtaining semen samples from the ...

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...

Previous work from our laboratory indicated that gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) increases human sperm-zona pellucida binding. Here we present evidence that GnRH antagonists inhibit sperm-zona pellucida binding in humans. Motile spermatozoa (10(7) cells/ml) were incubated in modified Tyrode's medium at 37 degrees C, in 5% CO(2) in air. After 4.5 h, aliquots of spermatozoa were treated wi...

We have recently presented evidence that the structural integrity of the mouse sperm nuclear matrix may be necessary for the proper unpackaging of sperm DNA for participation in embryogenesis. It is likely that the sperm nuclear matrix contributes to the organisation of the sperm DNA and its disturbance can seriously damage the paternal genome or its expression. In this work, we confirm our pre...

The development of homologous functional bio-assays for sperm quality assessment has been a focal point of reproductive biologists in order to provide a scientifically- based diagnosis in cases of fertilization failure. The availability of viable oocytes still remains an important limiting factor for laboratories to embark on the methodology of assays that examine sperm-oocyte interaction. The ...