Effect of Ionophore Challenge on Hamster Egg Penetration and Acrosome Reaction of Antibody‐Coated Human Sperm

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
PROBLEM: Following the demonstration that antisperm antibodies do not affect the spontaneous acrosome reactions (AR) of human sperm used for the hamster egg penetration assay (HEPA), we evaluated the effect of the ionophore challenge on HEPA and AR of antibody‐coated sperm.METHOD: Motile sperm suspensions from donors were exposed to serum and seminal plasma samples with sperm‐head‐directed antibodies, washed, capacitated, and challenged with ionomicin.RESULTS: The proportion of acrosome‐reacted sperm, assessed by fluoresceinated Pisum sativum agglutinin and supravital stain Hoechst 33258, was significantly higher in the antibody‐exposed sperm than in the controls (47.0 ± 13.2% vs. 39.3 ± 12.1, respectively; P < 0.05). However, the hamster egg penetration rate and index were not significantly different between antibody‐exposed sperm and controls (98.0 ± 3.7% vs.85.9 ± 16.2% and 6.64 ±4.1 vs. 6.81 ± 4.8, respectively). Only one of eight test samples with antisperm antibodies, where the highest increase of AR rate compared with controls was observed (55.0% vs. 35.6%) produced a substantial increase of penetrations per oocyte (7.4 vs. 4.1).CONCLUSION: The ionophore challenge enabled us to recognize a subtle effect of antisperm antibodies on the dynamics of acrosomal loss, the clinical relevance of which needs to be elucidated.

This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit: