title: An auto-controlled study in in-vitro fertilization reveals the benefit of Percoll centrifugation to swim-up in the preparation of poor-quality semen.
abstract: The efficiency of spermatozoa prepared by swim-up or by Percoll centrifugation was assessed in an in-vitro fertilization programme on 71 semen samples of a well-defined quality [total number of type A (WHO criteria) motile spermatozoa]: category I (n = 21) with > 100 x 10(6), II (n = 31) with 15-100 x 10(6), III (n = 11) with 5-15 x 10(6) and IV (n = 8) with < 5 x 10(6) type A motile spermatozoa. Oocytes were inseminated 4 h after oocyte retrieval, alternately with spermatozoa derived from swim-up and Percoll preparation. Both selection procedures resulted in a significantly higher (P < 0.001) percentage motility as compared to fresh semen. For low-quality samples (III and IV), however, swim-up was more effective in selecting highly motile (P = 0.004) and morphologically normal spermatozoa (P < 0.05). For high-quality samples, this difference might have been masked by introducing a swim-up step to remove Percoll particles. Regardless of the initial sperm quality, the mean fertilization rate was significantly higher (P = 0.003) when Percoll-treated spermatozoa were used for insemination (51.3 versus 37.8%). For semen of groups I and II, no difference in fertilization capacity was observed according to the sperm preparation method. Despite the lower percentage motility and normal morphology for the Percoll compared to the swim-up treatment in groups III and IV, fertilizing capacity was significantly (P < 0.001) in favour of this selection method (65.3 versus 26.5% in group III, 47.6 versus 11.6% in group IV).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sapienza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verheyen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tournaye
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Janssens
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pletincx
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Derde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Steirteghem
mesh_terms: D002498:Centrifugation; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011205:Povidone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C016039:Percoll; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D011205:Povidone