Morphology comparison of individually selected hyperactivated and non-hyperactivated human spermatozoa.
The objective of this study was to compare the morphology of human spermatozoa undergoing hyperactivated motility in vitro with those that were non-hyperactivated (non-hyp). Hyperactivation criteria were established by the Hobson Sperm Tracker (HST), sampling at 25 Hz, as curvilinear velocity (VCL) > or = 70 microns/s, amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) > or = 7 microns, linearity (LIN) < or = 30% and straight-line velocity (VSL) < or = 30 microns/s. Specially developed software incorporated in the HST produced a white computer-generated overlay for spermatozoa satisfying hyperactivation criteria. These spermatozoa, visually identified on a tracking monitor, were individually removed with micromanipulation equipment using a 12 microns-diameter needle. Fifty-six patient ejaculates were examined comprising a total morphological analysis of 1886 non-hyp spermatozoa and 1051 hyperactivated spermatozoa. Hyperactivated spermatozoa had a significantly higher mean percentage of normal heads and small acrosomes (P < 0.0001 and < 0.0001 respectively) and a significantly lower percentage of large and round heads, midpieces and tail defects (P = 0.002, < 0.0001, 0.02 and < 0.0001 respectively) when compared with non-hyp spermatozoa. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that a homogeneous live population of human hyperactivated spermatozoa, selected in vitro from patients with highly variable degrees of teratozoospermia, is comprised predominantly of cells with normal morphology (P < 0.0001).
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Centres for Assisted Reproduction (CARE), Park Hospital, Arnold, Nottingham, UK.
Fishel
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D005306:Fertilization; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*