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[Ultrastructure of immotile spermatozoa obtained from infertile male patients]
Abstract:
We sometimes experienced infertile patients whose sperms had no motility but were not stained by Eosin Y. In this paper we report five cases of so-called "immotile spermatozoa". The ultrastructure of sperm tails was examined by transmission electrone microscope (TEM). These cases were selected from the out-patient population who attended infertility clinic of our department. The semen analyses showed that all the cases had sperm motility below 1% and more than 90% of the spermatozoa were proven alive. Family history revealed that one case had an infertile sibling. None of them had situs inversus, bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis which are classic trias of Kartagener's syndrome. They had no symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection which was caused by the abnormality in the flagella of the respiratory tract. The TEM pictures of sperm tails showed partial deletion of inner dynein arms in two cases, lack of central microtubular doublets (so-called 9 + 0) in two cases and disarrangement of microtubular doublets in one case. For the treatment of these cases there is no effective means but AID. However, the rapid progress of IVF-ET techniques and a report that the spermatozoa from Kartagener's syndrome had showed penetration into eggs encouraged us to think the micromanipulation of spermatozoa with IVF-ET as a hopeful option of the treatment in the near future.
Insights
This study investigates infertile patients with immotile but viable sperm. Ultrastructural analysis revealed various sperm tail defects, suggesting new IVF-ET treatment options.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Biology
- Spermatozoa Ultrastructure
- Human Infertility
Context:
- Infertile patients with non-motile sperm are a clinical challenge.
- Eosin Y staining can indicate sperm viability, but some immotile sperm are not stained.
- This study focuses on a specific subset of infertile males with apparently viable but immotile spermatozoa.
Purpose:
- To investigate the ultrastructural basis of immotile but viable spermatozoa in infertile patients.
- To differentiate these cases from classic Kartagener's syndrome.
- To explore potential future treatment strategies for this condition.
Summary:
- Five infertile patients with <1% sperm motility and >90% viability (Eosin Y negative) were studied.
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed sperm tail defects: partial inner dynein arm deletion (2 cases), lack of central microtubular doublets (9+0) (2 cases), and microtubular disarrangement (1 case).
- These defects differ from Kartagener's syndrome, which was ruled out by clinical presentation.
Impact:
- Identifies specific ultrastructural abnormalities in immotile spermatozoa.
- Highlights the limitations of traditional semen analysis for diagnosing certain infertility causes.
- Suggests that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with in vitro fertilization (IVF-ET) may offer a future treatment avenue for these patients.