LB5 antibody was selected from a monoclonal antibody (mAb) library directed against human sperm proteins. LB5 mAb detected the corresponding protein SOB3 in the neck region and the flagellum of most live ejaculated sperm while it labelled, in addition, the acrosome of about 10-20% of spermatozoa. The percentage of LB5 acrosome-stained sperm was significantly correlated with the percentages of e...

STUDY QUESTION Do cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) translocate into spermatozoa and, if so, could they be utilized to deliver a much larger protein cargo? SUMMARY ANSWER Chemically diverse polycationic CPPs rapidly and efficiently translocate into spermatozoa. They exhibit differential accumulation within intracellular compartments without detrimental influences upon cellular viability or mot...

The role of Na(+) fluxes through voltage-gated sodium channels in the regulation of sperm cell function remains poorly understood. Previously, we reported that several genes encoding voltage-gated Na(+) channels were expressed in human testis and mature spermatozoa. In this study, we analyzed the presence and function of the TTX-resistant VGSC α subunit Nav1.8 in human capacitated sperm cells. ...

Sperm selection is essential to assisted reproductive technology (ART), influencing treatment outcomes and the health of offspring. The fundamental challenge of sperm selection is dictated by biology: a heterogeneous population of ~10(8) sperm per milliliter with a short lifetime in vitro. However, conventional sperm selection approaches result in less than 50% improvement in DNA integrity. Her...

BACKGROUND Volume regulation is an important sperm function because defective sperm cannot negotiate the female tract in an infertile mouse model and swollen human sperm cannot penetrate and migrate through mucus. METHODS AND RESULTS The size of sperm from 52 donor ejaculates incubated in medium of female tract fluid osmolality (BWW290) was measured by flow cytometry to be identical to that i...

BACKGROUND Apoptosis appears to have an essential role in the control of testis germ cell number and Fas expression has been reported in apoptotic spermatocytes and spermatids. We investigated if Fas (CD95) was present on ejaculated human sperm and any relationship between Fas on sperm and the apoptotic marker Syto16. METHODS Semen samples from 77 male partners of infertile couples were evalu...

Laser trapping in the near infrared regime is a noninvasive and microfluidic-compatible biomedical tool. This chapter examines the use of optical trapping as a quantitative measure of sperm motility. The single point gradient trap is used to directly measure the swimming forces of sperm from several different species. These forces could provide useful information about the overall sperm motilit...

Background: Recent evidence has indicated a deterioration in reproductive health of men in many countries over the past few decades, particularly a decrease in semen quality and an increase in prevalence of prostate cancer. The human male has a relatively low fertility potential as compared to other mammals. Thus, the human male may be at greater risk from reproductive toxicants. For example, t...

Background: Heat-shock protein A2 (HspA2) is a testisspecific member of the HSP70 family known to play a critical role in spermatogenic cell differentiation. HspA2 is correlated with sperm maturity, function and fertility, and diminished expression of HspA2 results in abnormal sperm maturity and infertility. The aim of this study was to compare expression of HspA2 in fertile and infertile indiv...

background: sperm vitrification is a technique of ice and cryoprotectant free cryopreservation by direct plunging of sperm suspension into liquid nitrogen (ln2). the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of cryoprotectant free-vitrification on human sperm fine structure by msome technology and the fertility potential by zona binding assay (zba). methods: 20 normo-ejaculates were pr...