Spermiophagy in vitro.
An in vitro procedure was designed to investigate whether macrophages discriminate between live and dead sperm and between sperm of different donors. In this procedure 1 million murine peritoneal macrophages were allowed to attach to a cover glass, and the resulting monolayer was overlaid with the same number of sperm cells. The spermiophagic index (SPI) was determined by counting sperm heads phagocytized in 100 macrophages after a given exposure time under standard conditions of incubation. The SPI was proportional to the exposure time, and the curve of dynamics leveled off after 5 h of incubation. This study has shown that sperm cells in an in vitro system are avidly phagocytized by macrophages regardless of their origin, live or dead, provided their plasmalemma is preserved. Preliminary observations in female mice did not support the hypothesis that SPI was inversely proportional to the egg fertilization rate.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010587:Phagocytosis; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors