The role of sperm in inducing genomic changes in the implantation: An experimental study

Endometrial receptivity and implantation are important topics in reproductive sciences. No evidence was found to support sperm involvement in endometrial receptivity and its associated factors. This study aimed to explore the effect of the normal human spermatozoa-endometrium cell interaction in regulating genes in the endometrial receptivity pathway. Semen samples were collected from a healthy and fertile man; then, they were incubated with endometrial cells for 24 hr and considered as the sperm group. A group was cultured without spermatozoa and considered as a control group. About 24 hr later, cells were collected from the bottom of the culture dish. The expressions of the VEGF, FGF2, HBEGF, LIFR, EGF, LIF, MUC1, HOXA10, CSF and PGR genes were evaluated in the two groups. Statistical analysis was performed using an independent sample test. Compared with the control group, in the sperm group, the mRNA levels of PGR (p = .0451), VEGF (p = .0101), HBEGF (p = .0163), EFG (p = .0339), FGF2 (p = .012), LIF (p = .0324), LIFR (p = .0321) and HOXA10 (p = .0098) were significantly upregulated. The results showed that there is a need for the interaction between spermatozoa and endometrium for implantation and can be used for preparing uterine in in vitro fertilisation cycles.