OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between sperm DNA methylation level and sperm characteristics and pregnancy rates. DESIGN Prospective study. Quantitation by image analysis of DNA methylation in sperm nucleus. SETTING Department of Reproduction Biology, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France. PATIENT(S) Infertile couples undergoing IVF-ET. INTERVENTION(S) The immunostaining of 5 ...

The sperm surface antigen tMDC I (also known as cyritestin) has been proposed to play a role in sperm-egg binding in the mouse via an interaction between its disintegrin-like domain and an integrin receptor on the oolemma plasma membrane. Here we report the cloning and sequence of human tMDC I transcripts and show that they are non-functional, owing to the presence of a variety of deletions, in...

Soluble N-ethylmalameide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins are present in mammalian sperm and could be involved in critical membrane fusion events during fertilization, namely the acrosome reaction. Vesicle-associated membrane protein/synaptobrevin, a SNARE on the membrane of a vesicular carrier, and syntaxin 1, a SNARE on the target membrane, as well as the calcium ...

Different aquaporins (AQPs) are expressed in human sperm cells and with a different localization. Their function has been related to cell volume control in response to the osmotic changes encountered passing from the epididymal fluid to the cervical mucus or involved in the end stage of cytoplasm removal during sperm maturation. Recently, AQPs have also shown hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) permeabili...

OBJECTIVE To study using immunohistochemistry the localization of P2X receptor subtypes on the head of immature sperm in the human, mouse, hamster, and rat caput epididymidis. DESIGN Basic research. SETTING University-based hospital. PATIENT(S) Three human epididymides were obtained from patients undergoing orchidectomy for metastatic prostate cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) P2X(1), P2X...

BACKGROUND Antibodies to human sperm are useful diagnostic reagents for detection of changes in sperm protein expression and their relationship with sperm defects and male infertility. The specificity of Hs-16 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and the localization and frequency of the occurrence of Hs-16-recognized protein on human spermatozoa were investigated. METHODS Samples from 30 fertile men wi...

Induction of human sperm chemotaxis is an established phenomenon, though signaling systems physiologically involved have not been identified. Recently, it has been demonstrated that RANTES is present in the follicular fluid and that this molecule is a chemoactractant for human spermatozoa. However, the presence of beta-chemokine receptors on human spermatozoa has never been reported. By cytomet...

Spermatozoa generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in physiological amounts, which play a role in sperm functions during sperm capacitation, acrosome reaction (AR), and oocyte fusion. In addition, damaged sperm are likely to be the source of ROS. The most important ROS produced by human sperm are hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals. Besides, human seminal plasma and sperm ...

Lithium has a significant impact in reducing the symptoms of bipolar mania but in long periods of use with therapeutic doses can cause several disorders in various organs including the reproductive system. In this study on the sperm concentration and motility has been examined. Nowadays, infertility coming from incapability of male system, particularly from sperm disorder is very common. Some t...