title: Improvement of fertilizing performance by normal and abnormal mouse semen after zona opening of mature oocytes.
abstract: The usefulness of opening the zona pellucida by partial zona dissection (PZD) to enhance fertilization of mature mouse oocytes was studied after insemination with three types of semen: normal and diluted semen and semen from long-term-vasectomized males. Zona opening did not by itself induce parthenogenetic cleavage of mature oocytes and did not significantly increase mono- and polyspermic fertilization of oocytes inseminated with normal semen. While a fertilization rate of 62% was obtained among intact oocytes, of which 4.5% were polyspermic, a 66.8% fertilization rate was observed among PZD oocytes, 6.3% of which were polyspermic. However, after using diluted semen, only 54 of 193 intact oocytes were fertilized (28%), and PZD improved the fertilization rate to 65.4%. Cleavage rate of nonmanipulated oocytes inseminated with abnormal semen from vasectomized males was dramatically decreased in comparison with those inseminated with normal semen (7.6% vs. 65%). PZD induced a moderate but significant improvement of fertilization performance when using this abnormal semen (19.6%).
authors.affiliation: IVF Clinic, Saint Pierre Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barlow
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Der Zwalmen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schoysman
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leroy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D008846:Micromanipulation; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D012661:Semen / Q000502:physiology*; D014659:Vasectomy; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000502:physiology*