Influence of the quality of the cervical mucus on sperm penetration: comparison of the morphologic features of spermatozoa in 101 postcoital tests with those in the semen of the husband.

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of abnormal spermatozoa in mucus by a postcoital test and to compare the findings with the teratospermia in a control analysis of the husband's semen. These data obtained from 101 hypofertile couples were correlated with the quality of mucus, which was classified into three categories according to rigorous scoring procedures. The morphologic features of spermatozoa were evaluated by the same investigator and classified on the basis of a system that allowed for multiple entries. This method provided an exact description when several anomalies were identified on the same spermatozoon. By this approach, spermofiltration of the mucus was determined both qualitatively and quantitatively. The proportion of abnormal spermatozoa decreased in the cervical mucus, compared with semen, when the mucus was abundant and of normal quality (32.3% +/- 8.7% in mucus, versus 55.7% +/- 13.9% in semen). The elimination of tail anomalies depended upon the quality of the cervical secretion. A normal mucus eliminated spermatozoa with abnormal heads only if they were associated with a tail anomaly.

Severe teratospermia in an infertile man with bronchiectasis.

Morphologic examination of sperm samples from an infertile man with bronchiectasis revealed a severe teratospermia characterized by rare abnormalities that were present in most of his spermatozoa. These abnormalities were represented by round-headed spermatozoa, changes in chromatin condensation, acrosomal alterations, multiple tails, and complete subcellular derangement. The similarity between the above-reported abnormalities and those observed in various species of laboratory animals strongly suggests that the observed defects might be the result of a defective function of the manchette during spermiogenesis. The absence of specific defects of the axonemal morphologic features in sperm tails and in respiratory cilia, together with some laboratory data, suggests that association between infertility and bronchiectasis cannot be related, in our patient, to a generalized syndrome.

Lack of a head in human spermatozoa from sterile patients: a syndrome associated with impaired fertilization.

Three patients with primary sterility in whom the majority of spermatozoa lacked a normally implanted head are presented. A small cephalic knob was evident in most of them by routine colorimetric techniques, and the Feulgen reaction failed to show any deoxyribose nucleic acid. The morphologic features of the tails was normal. Few loose sperm heads were observed in the ejaculates. Even though motility was decreased, there were numerous acephalic sperms with different degrees of forward motility. Electron microscopy showed a well-organized structure of the centrioles and connecting piece, which were located in the neck region within a small cytoplasmic mass, but no chromatin was detected in any case. Studies on immature spermatids present in semen evidenced an independent anomalous development of heads and tails and suggested that they became separated at the end of spermatid maturation. This anomaly, of probable genetic origin, is interpreted to be due either to an alteration in the mechanism of migration and positioning of the tail on the caudal pole of the nucleus or to an interference with the formation of the implantation fossa of the head, which normally accommodates the connecting piece.

Male infertility associated with round-headed acrosomeless spermatozoa.

The properties of spermatozoa with round head syndrome in four unrelated patients are reported. The findings were as follows: (1) Electron microscopy demonstrated that all spermatozoa lacked an acrosome and postacrosomal sheath. (2) Acrosin activity was only 1% to 6% of that found in sperm obtained from fertile donors. (3) Phospholipase A2 activity was not significantly different from that of spermatozoa from donors of unknown fertility. (4) Electrophoresis of whole sperm extracts revealed deficiencies in major protein bands. (5) The round-headed spermatozoa failed to bind or penetrate the vitellus in the egg penetration test. (6) The rates of chemically induced nuclear chromatin decondensation of round-headed spermatozoa suggest that the acrosome content is not involved in this process.

Coexistence of spermatozoa morphological abnormalities in the semen of potentially fertile men.

Spermatozoal morphology in semen specimens from 114 potentially fertile men, aged from 20 to 40 years, was evaluated from Papanicolaou stained smears, in order to investigate: (a) the frequency of abnormalities in the neck and tail of spermatozoa with an abnormal or normal head, and (b) the ability of prediction of the morphology of one sperm part when the morphology of another is known. It was found that: (1) Morphological abnormalities in the neck are significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in spermatozoa with an abnormal head than in spermatozoa with a normal head. (2) Morphological abnormalities in the tail and cytoplasmic droplet are also higher, although not significant, in spermatozoa with an abnormal head. (3) The proportional reduction in error (PRE) was low in all cases. Our results show that spermatozoa with abnormal heads more often present morphological abnormalities of their other parts than spermatozoa with normal heads. However, no prediction can be made on the nature of the morphology of a part of a spermatozoon on the basis of knowledge of the morphology of another of its parts.

[Morphologic parameters of sperm. 1) Syndromes]. / Paramètres morphologiques du sperme. 1) Syndromes.

In this study we have been able to pull out 23 case histories of husbands of sterile wives out of a total of 839 patients who consulted us for diminished fertility. These 23 have the characteristics of "normal" male male population and serve as a reference group to estimate normal values of different parameters. The steps taken in this way give figures that are very little different from those obtained by other methods but once a still larger group have been analysed it would be possible by this method to work out the incidence of the different pathological states that can be found in the general population. An analysis of the differences found in our groups shows that the most significant parameter is the percentage of spermatozoa that are moving in straight lines. This means that future efforts should be directed to this parameter when automation or standardization is considered. There are normally random fluctuations in the parameters of healthy subjects but pathological pressures in subjects with lowered fertility mean that some of them vary in parallel coordinated directions. Because of this, seven different profiles can be worked out for different syndromes: Where the head alone is affected: macrocephalic spermatozoa, broken spermatozoa. Where the intermediate portion alone is damaged: a very thin intermediate portion. Where the tail alone is affected: spermatozoa with a short or absent tail. Where several parts of the sperm are affected: hook-shaped spermatozoa, double-headed spermatozoa, and rolled-up spermatozoa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Statistical analysis and experiment planning in the test for the induction of anomalous sperm in mice]. / Statisticheskii analiz i planirovanie éksperimentov v teste na induktsiiu anomal'nykh spermiev u myshei.

The work deals with analysis and planning of experiments in one of the testing methods for potential genetic activity of chemicals--in the test for sperm abnormality in mice. A novel way of analysis of experimental data using consecutive scheme of microscopy of preparations has been suggested which came to be more convenient and economically advantageous in routine work.

Fluorescence microscopic detection of acrosin in different morphologic types of human spermatozoa.

The immunoreaction for acrosin in different morphological types of human spermatozoa was evaluated by light microscopy in the semen of 68 male partners of infertile couples. The antigen had a cup-shaped distribution in the anterior region of the head in normal spermatozoa, and in those with an isolated abnormal mid-piece or tail. On the contrary acrosin was absent, or it did not show a cup-shaped immunostaining, in most spermatozoa with malformed heads with the exception of those with a large oval form. The assessment of immunoreaction for acrosin and of vitality of different morphological types of spermatozoa in the same ejaculates, suggested that the antigen was intrinsically absent in abnormal-headed but vital spermatozoa. It is concluded that an inherent lack, or an abnormal synthesis of acrosin during spermatogenesis is associated to the abnormal development of the spermatozoa head.

Semen quality of infertile couples--comparison between smokers and non-smokers.

Comparison of semen quality was undertaken between 60 smoking and 50 non-smoking men attending infertility investigation. As far as possible, other factors which might influence semen quality were eliminated. The men were allocated into groups according to sperm density and number of cigarettes smoked per day. The percentage of motile sperm in heavy smokers with oligozoospermia and the total sperm count were lower, the difference being significant at the 1% and 5% levels, respectively. No correlation was found in percentage of sperm with morphologically abnormal heads, midpieces or tails. Heavy smoking may have a detrimental effect on the motility of sperm. Further studies are needed to explain the mechanisms by which smoking affects spermatogenesis.

[Ultrastructural analysis of human ejaculate from infertile subjects]. / Analisi dell'ultrastruttura dell'eiaculato umano in soggetti infertili.

It has been demonstrated that the semen of infertile patients contains at high percentage of abnormal forms and no clear answer has been so far provided to the questions of which malformations are compatible with male fertility, which malformations are responsible for the infertility and which is the percentage of defective cells that gives rise to infertility. In this study the eiaculates of 56 patients of suspected male infertility were used as material. The semen samples were fixed for 2 hr at room temperature in 4% glutaraldehyde in 0.05 M cacodilate buffer + 0.018% CaCl2 + 6.6% sucrose, post-fixed in 1.5% OsO4 in same buffer + 6.6% sucrose, dehydrated and embedded in Spurr. The samples were sectioned with Reichert OMu3 ultratome. The sections, contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, were examined in a Feol M T8 E.M. The varieties of sperm malformations are described and classificated into morphological categories based upon the type of alteration and the cellular portion in which the malformation appeared. From this research we have got the following conclusions: 1) an absolute correlation between microscopical, ultrastructural defects and functionality of spermatozoa does not exists; 2) the submicroscopic analysis contributes to a more accurate definition of the eiaculate; 3) the high variability of the ultrastructural defects needs that the submicroscopical analysis of the human semen must be supplemented by a quantitative evaluation.

A high proportion of double-headed and double-tailed sperm in semen of a human male. A case report.

We present the case of a patient whose semen contained 30% of sperm with double heads and double tails at various stages of attachment due to abnormal meiosis. The genital system, sperm density, endocrinological profile and karyotype were normal. It is postulated that abundance of the above-noted type of sperm pathology in the human semen might not necessarily be associated with oligozoospermia or fertility impairment.

[Genetic action of 131I and 125I on the germ cells of male mice]. / Geneticheskoe deistvie 131I i 125I na polovye kletki myshei-samtsov.

A study was made of the genetic effects of iodine radioactive isotopes in male germ cells of (CBA X C57Bl)F1 hybrid mice. After a single intraperitoneal administration of Na131I (1.48 to 740 kBq/g) or Na125I (148 to 7400 kBq/g) to males the occurrence of dominant lethal mutations (DLM), reciprocal translocations (RT), and abnormal sperm heads (ASH) was studied. The radioactive iodine isotopes induced DLM at the postmeiotic spermatogenesis stages only. After the effect of the isotopes, the frequency of RT increased insignificantly with dose. The frequency of ASH was only increased with the highest 131I dose. Relative biological effectiveness of 131I and 125I was less than 1 with a reference to the indices under study.

[Induction of genetic damage by incorporated 238Pu in the germ cells of male mice]. / Induktsiia geneticheskikh povrezhdenii inkorporirovannym 238Pu v polovykh kletkakh samtsov myshi.

Frequency of dominant lethal mutation, occurrence of spermatozoa with abnormal heads, and changes in the testis mass were studied after the administration to mice of 238Pu in doses from 7 to 1850 Bq/g. The frequency of genetic lesions in the testis was not a function of alpha-radiation dose. The rate of the testis mass decrease was a linear function of the dose absorbed. RBE of 238Pu-alpha-radiation, as determined by the incidence of abnormal spermatozoa heads and by the changes in the testis mass, was from 14 to 35 with regard to the chronic effect of gamma-radiation.