title: Fresh and frozen-thawed human sperm bind in a similar pattern to the zona pellucida in the hemizona assay.
abstract: This study evaluated the impact of sperm cryopreservation on sperm quality. The HZA was used to test the binding capacity of fresh as opposed to frozen-thawed sperm from 12 donors. Fresh and frozen-thawed sperm motility was 47% +/- 1.5% and 24% +/- 3.8% (mean +/- SE), respectively. However, the number of sperm cells attached to the hemizonae was 75 +/- 12.0 and 74 +/- 11.9, respectively. We conclude that cryopreservation results in a reduced number of motile sperm cells but does not adversely affect the ability of rescued sperm cells to bind to the ZP. The study also supports the use of frozen-thawed rather than fresh donor sperm for control in the HZA procedure.
authors.affiliation: Institute for the Study of Fertility, Serlin Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gamzu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yogev
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yavetz
authors.forename: Z T
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Homonnai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiss
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paz
mesh_terms: D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000378:metabolism*