Acrosome-reacting capacity of frozen-thawed human semen: relation to hamster ova penetration.
Interspecies egg penetration requires completion of capacitation and acrosome reaction of the spermatozoa. The ability of frozen-thawed human semen to accomplish this reaction was studied, and its relation to the zona-free hamster egg penetration was investigated. The percentage of reacted cells in the population of live spermatozoa estimated by the triple-staining technique was found to be greater in frozen than in fresh samples. However, the egg-penetrating ability of cryopreserved semen remained significantly low. Individual differences in the ability to undergo the acrosome reaction and its relation to penetration are discussed.
D000177:Acrosome / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D013045:Species Specificity; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*