摘要:

SummaryThe epithelium of caput and cauda epididymidis of the rat was studied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and freeze‐fracture techniques. In thin sections of both zones, the tissue consisted mainly of tall columnar cells (principal cells) with long stereocilia. Clusters of small membrane‐bound vesicles were located in the lumen between or immediately over the stereocilia. Freeze‐fracture replicas also displayed groups of smooth‐surface vesicles in the same location. Membrane‐bound vesicles isolated from the lumen of the rat epididymis were studied by TEM. In thin sections, some of them contained an electron dense material and others looked empty. In addition, the hydrolases: β‐galactosidase, N‐acetyl‐glycosaminidase, α‐mannosidase, aryl‐sulfatase and β‐glucuronidase were detectable in pellets of vesicles treated with Triton X‐100. The results presented here indicate the presence of membrane‐bound vesicles observed by two different methodologies in the rat epididymal fluid and demonstrate five g

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02087.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryThe relationship between superoxide anion production and the activities of sperm specific NADH‐diaphorase and isozyme LDH‐C4has been investigated in 25 normozoospermic and 17 oligozoospermic semen samples. The samples were separated into high and low density sperm populations on discontinuous, two step (40%:80%) Percoll gradients prior to analysis. Superoxide anion generation was significantly higher (P<0.001) and diaphorase activity significantly increased (P<0.01) in both low and high density sperm fractions from oligozoospermic patients compared to the values found in normozoospermic men. A significant positive correlation (P<0.01) between diaphorase activity and superoxide anion production was established in the oligozoospermic samples of low density sperm fraction. A tendency of statistically insignificant increase in LDH‐C4isozyme activity was observed in the oligozoospermic samples. The activity of this isozyme appears to have no association with superoxide anion generation or diaphorase activity. These findings seem to suggest that excessive superoxide anion production along with increased diaphorase activity point to biochemical abnormalities which may affect the functional status of sperms. Hence, determination of these parameters may provide useful data in male infertility of unknown eti

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02088.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryIn this paper the mathematical formula recently proposed by Baccetti&Mirolli in this journal is used for the quantitative electron microscopical evaluation of six submicroscopical defects frequently present in the spermatozoa ejaculated by patients affected by various degrees of varicocele. All these characteristics are independent from each other and are in some way related to imperfect sperm maturation. They concern the shape and position of the acrosome, the status of the chromatin, of the mitochondria, of the axoneme, the individuality of the cell. The incidence in the sperm population of these submicroscopical characters is clearly related to the degree of the affection as estimated by usual clinical parameters. This demonstrates that the electron microscopical sperm analysis evaluated by the present formula is a very sensitive tool in revealing fine prognostical parameters.

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02089.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryIn a retrospective blind study, Papanicolaou's stained semen smears of the husbands of 105 patients who took part in thein vitrofertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) program of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in 1991, were evaluated for the rates of normal sperm heads. The patients were divided into three groups according to the results of the IVF/ET: A = no fertilized egg; B = only fertilization, no pregnancy; C = pregnancy/birth. Four different categories of the sperm heads' morphology were defined: 1) ‘Ideally’ normal heads (normal size, relations width to length 2/3 to 3/5, acrosomal region ≥40≤70%); 2) Normal heads with only minor deviations from the ‘ideally’ normal form, strictly excluding spermatozoa with inhomogeneously stained acrosomal or pointed post‐acrosomal regions; 3) Sperm heads with major alterations which are nevertheless widely considered as still normal in the literature; 4) Heads which are generally accepted as pathologically formed. It could be shown that the application of the strict criteria in the categories 1 plus 2 lead to significant differences not only between the IVF/ET groups A and B or C, but also between the

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02090.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryA computerized motility analyzer (CellTrak/STM) was calibrated for its use with ram semen. Adjustment of the several setup variables allowed an accurate measurement of kinetic parameters such as percentage of motile cells, straight velocity, curvilinear velocity, linearity and amplitude of lateral displacement of the head. All kinetic parameters, except the lateral displacement of the head, showed significant changes after freezing and thawing. The curvilinear velocity exhibited the least significative post‐thaw decrease. The alterations in kinetic parameters provoked by freezing and thawing could account for the low success obtained with frozen semen by cervical insemination, as it is accepted that during the initial steps of fertilization high motility and linearity are require

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02091.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryRoutine semen analysis includes measurements of sperm concentration, motility, and morphology. In our study, three additional tests were evaluated in relation to fertilization rate in anin vitrofertilization program: the freezing and hypo‐osmotic swelling tests that evaluate the functional integrity and stability of the sperm membrane under extreme osmotic conditions, and migration sedimentation test that isolates high‐quality motile sperm cells. The study was performed on semen delivered by men of couples treated at theIn VitroFertilization Unit, and men who served as semen donors (fresh or cryopreserved semen). No correlation was found between the sperm fertilization rate, and the decrease in motility percent following the freezing‐thawing process. Thus, the freezing test cannot be used to predict semen fertilization capacity. The hypo‐osmotic swelling test was applied on semen given by a similar population of men. While the hypo‐osmotic swelling test values carried out with fresh semen was found to have good correlation with fertilization, no correlation was found when frozen thawed semen was used. Post‐migration sedimentation test sperm characteristics, and especially the recovery rate of the motile sperm, were significantly better inin vitrofertilization cycles with fertilizations. Both the hypo‐osmotic swelling test and migration sedimentation test can assist in evaluating semen quality, judged by the fertilization rate in anin vitrofertiliz

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02092.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryTo evaluate the effects of ligature of the internal spermatic artery at varicocelectomy on fertility, we conducted a prospective randomized study for comparison of two surgical methods (artery‐ligated and artery‐preserved). A total of 66 infertile patients with palpable varicocele was randomly assigned to an artery‐ligated or artery‐preserved group at varicocelectomy and the change in seminal characteristics and testis volume was prospectively investigated. Sperm density and motility improved significantly in the artery‐ligated group. There was significant improvement in sperm density in the artery‐preserved group, but motility did not reach the level of statistical significance in this group. The significant change in testis volume was not observed in both groups. Seven (23.3%) of 30 patients in the artery‐ligated group and 5 (13.9%) of 36 men in the artery‐preserved group managed to impregnate their partners. The difference was not statistically significant. In spite of the advocative advantage of artery preservation, our present study did not show any significant difference between artery‐ligating and artery‐preserving varicocelectomy when improvements in semen quality and pregnancy rate were assessed. Thus, artery‐ligated varicocelectomy is warranted with regard to postoperative fertility in the patients wit

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02093.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryThe reports published thus far on prolactin and thyrotrophin secretion in patients with Klinefelter's syndrome are controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelation between prolactin on one hand, and hormones of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐gonadal axis and thyrotrophin, on the other, in males with Klinefelter's syndrome. Fifteen patients with Klinefelter's syndrome, aged between 17 and 43 years, and 15 healthy males, aged 22–35 years, were studied. Mean ± SD basal serum prolactin levels were 529.6±174.6 mU l‐1in the patients, and 270.1±113.0 mU l‐1in the control group (P<0.001). Following 200 μg thyrotrophin releasing hormone, an enhanced prolactin response was seen in the males with Klinefelter's syndrome. There was no evidence of any of the well‐known causes of hyperprolactinaemia. The response of thyrotrophin to thyrotrophin releasing hormone was more pronounced in Klinefelter patients in comparison with controls. Presumably, in Klinefelter's syndrome both alterations—of prolactin and thyrotrophin secretion—may be caused by decrease of testosterone levels or they could reflect a disturbance in neuroendocrine regulation with some neurotr

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02094.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryThis study localized antigenic determinants recognized by a mouse anti‐human sperm monoclonal antibody TüS10 immunocytochemically and immunoelectron microscopically in the rat sperm recovered from the caput and cauda epididymidis. Immunocytochemistry showed that the antibody bound specifically to the plasma membrane overlying the principal piece of membrane‐intact sperm from the caput and cauda epididymidis. Demembranation by Triton X‐100 significantly decreased the affinity of the monoclonal antibody TüS10 to the caput sperm but did not obviously change that to the cauda sperm. Immunoelectron microscopy with biotinstreptavidin peroxidase complex pre‐embedding method confirmed the localization of the antigenic determinants over the cell surface of the principal piece of the membrane‐intact spermatozoa from the caput and cauda epididymidis. The demembranated sperm from the caput epididymidis showed no intracellular labelling, while those from the cauda displayed labelling on their external surface of the fibrous sheath. Using monoclonal antibody TüS10 as a probe, we detected different distribution patterns of the antigenic determinants between the spermatozoa in the caput and cauda epididymidis. These results suggest that spermatozoa mature with immunologically detectable changes in the fibrous sheath during their epidid

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02095.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

SummaryThe scope of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, precision and specificity of the sperm concentration measurements by the Strömberg‐Mika Cell Motion Analyser (SM‐CMA). Our data show that the instrument generally underscores the sperm concentration and therefore the uncorrected measurements must be corrected by the operator using the ‘mouse’‐driven option. In terms of precision, the system appears to have an excellent internal precision whereas its repeatability is influenced by the sperm concentration, the sample's homogeneity and the correction of the raw data. In order to increase the system's repeatability, we suggest that sperm counts should be carried out in various fields of the counting chamber, and the mean of the corrected values be taken as representative of the sperm concentration in the ejaculate if the various measurements show a homogenous (poissonian) distribution. The correction of the raw data with the ‘mouse’‐driven correction option was also shown to improve the system's reproducibility. Concerning specificity, our data evidenced that, without technical correction, the instrument failed to correctly classify certain spermatozoa as such, thereby grossly underscoring sperm counts. This finding was more evident at low sperm counts. Overall, the SM‐CMA requires additional laboratory time but the corrected sperm counts are comparable to manual counts and semi‐automated counts with the added option that it provides the andrologists with various motility characteristics not possible with the

ISSN:0303-4569    

DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0272.1995.tb02096.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY