Determination of the acrosome reaction in human spermatozoa is predictive of fertilization in vitro.
The acrosome reaction was determined in aliquots from ejaculates of 74 patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization at the University of Giessen, Germany, by means of the triple-stain technique. The percentage of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa after low-temperature induction of the acrosome reaction was not significantly related with the fertilization rate (H test, P = 0.693, SJ test, P = 0.366). However, all patients showing < 13.0% acrosome-reacted spermatozoa had poor fertilization rates. Highly significant differences between patients could be detected by correlating the inducibility of the acrosome reaction with the fertilization rate (H test, P = 0.018; SJ test, P = 0.004); patients with high fertilization rates showed a corresponding high inducibility of acrosome reactions. From our results, it is evident that percentages of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa < 13.0% or an inducibility of the acrosome reaction of < 7.5% are indicative of subfertility.
Henkel
R
R
Department of Dermatology and Andrology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Müller
C
C
Miska
W
W
Gips
H
H
Schill
W B
WB
D000177:Acrosome / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis