Increased Retention of Sperm in the Reproductive Tract and Improved Ovum Fertilization after Administration of Estradiol to Estrous Rabbits

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Abstract
Four experiments were conducted on the ability of exogenous estradiol to improve sperm transport and ovum fertilization. In the 1st experiment, 50 estrous does were injected with 0, 0.3, 1, 3 or 10 .mu.g of estradiol-17.beta., mated 1 h later and necropsied 2.5 h after mating. Significant linear relationships were found between estradiol dose and sperm numbers in the oviducts and uterus. The 3 .mu.g dose of estradiol resulted in recovery of the highest numbers of sperm. Thirty-two estrous does were injected with either 0 or 3 .mu.g of estradiol, inseminated artificially with known numbers of sperm and necropsied 2.5 h after insemination. The estradiol-treated does had significantly higher numbers of sperm in the oviducts, uterine horns, cervices and vagina; the estrogen treatment apparently delayed the loss of sperm from the reproductive tract. Twenty-four estrous does were inseminated artificially, injected with 0 or 3 .mu.g of estradiol 7 h later and necropsied 3 h after that. Significantly more sperm were recovered from the treated does, indicating that estradiol influenced sperm numbers when administered several hours after insemination. In the 4th experiment, 56 estrous does were injected with hCG [human chorionic gonadotropin] to induce ovulation and inseminated with small numbers of sperm. Estradiol treatment increased significantly the proportion of does with cleaved ova and the proportion of total ova that cleaved.

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