background: egg yolk is the main cryoprotectant agent in semen freezing extenders which is used in order to protect spermatozoa against cold shock. however elimination of animal bioproducts from the cryopreservation protocol is becoming mandatory. therefore the aim of this study is to compare a previously studied homemade soya bean lecithin based extender with a commercially available extender ...

STUDY QUESTION How do live birth rates compare after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for men with obstructive azoospermia when using sperm derived from testicular sperm extraction (TESE) versus microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA)? SUMMARY ANSWER Our study suggests that proximal epididymal sperm (from MESA) result in higher live birth rates as compared with testicular sper...

The lipid metabolism in sperm cells is important both as one of the main sources for energy production and for cell structure. The double leaflets of the membrane should be considered not simply as a passive lipid film, but as a very specialized structure. The complete maturation of the sperm cell membrane is attained after testicular lipid biosynthetic processes and after passage through the e...

Past studies have shown that the epithelial lining of the epididymis in adult mice deficient in protective protein cathepsin A (PPCA -/-) becomes swollen and vacuolated as a result of an accumulation of pale lysosomes, some very large, in addition to the presence of an abundance of macrophages infiltrating the intertubular spaces. The purpose of this study was to assess the integrity of the epi...

We have found that the rat testis contains a cell surface galactosyl receptor that is antigenically related to the minor species of rat liver asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-r) and has binding affinity for galactose coupled to agarose. In immunoblotting experiments, rat testis galactosyl receptor (RTG-r) is recognized by antiserum raised against the minor ASGP-r species of rat liver (designat...

Sperm motility stimulation is a pharmacological treatment used to improve sperm motility and treatment outcome in frozen-thawed epididymal and testicular spermatozoa. Sperm motility is a critical factor in male fertility. Low motility can be caused by a variety factors including abnormal spermatogenesis, oxidative damage, or depletion of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP; molecule that ...

The introduction of the technique of intracytoplasmic sperm injection to achieve fertilization, especially using surgically retrieved testicular or epididymal sperm from men with obstructive or non-obstructive azoospermia, has revolutionized the field of assisted reproduction. The techniques for the retrieval of spermatozoa vary from relatively simple percutaneous sperm aspiration to open excis...

The effect of aqueous leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (Neem) on reproduction was studied on male albino rats. The study was divided into three groups of six animals each. The first group (I) received distilled water serve as control. The second and third groups (II and III) of animals were administered the aqueous leaf extract daily at 250mg/kg body wt., and 350mg/kg body wt., respectively f...

This review article discusses a novel nontraditional site of estrogen synthesis and the potential targets of estrogen action within the male reproductive system. Our laboratories have recently demonstrated that developing spermatids in several species contain aromatase, the cytochrome P450 enzyme responsible for converting androgens into estrogens. The enzyme was localized by immunocytochemistr...