Effect of migration and capacitation on the nuclear stability of human sperm

A possible change in the nuclear stability of the human spermatozoa further than ejaculation was investigated. A nuclear chromatin decondensation ability test using 1% SDS + 6 mM EDTA was used on spermatozoa migrated for 1 h in a swim-up migration (in BWW + human serum albumin 0.8%) and capacitated for 5 h in the same medium. The results, analyzed as paired series, showed that (1) capacitated and migrated spermatozoa have a greater nuclear stability than that of the control population (total sperm), (2) there was no significant difference of the nuclear stability between migrated and capacitated spermatozoa, and (3) there was no effect of the media used (BWW + HSA) on the nuclear stability. Thus, it seemed that migrating spermatozoa definitely selects a specific resistant population to decondensing reagents.