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Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 5, 1281-1287, May 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, human sperm and assisted fertilization

Coralie Pallier1, Lamia Tebourbi2, Stéphanie Chopineau-Proust1, Damien Schoevaert3, Patrice Nordmann1, Jacques Testart2 and Anne-Marie Courtot2,4

1 Service de Bactériologie–Virologie–Parasitologie–Hygiène, CHU Bicêtre, Paris-Sud, 78 rue du Général Leclerc, 94275 Le Kremlin–Bicêtre, 2 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 355 et Institut Fédératif de Recherche sur les Cytokines,32 rue des Carnets, 92140 Clamart and 3 Laboratoire d'Analyse d'Images en Pathologie Cellulaire, Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie, Hopital Saint Louis, 1 avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France

BACKGROUND: The effect of viral particles on the motility of human sperm and the relationship between sperm and virus are of importance particularly in assisted fertilizations. METHODS: We incubated ejaculated sperm with or without seminal fluid with either herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2) or human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). For each experiment, 5x105 sperm were incubated with a viral load of between 104 and 106 plaque-forming units. RESULTS: We detected no apparent variations in the percentage of motile forms when sperm were incubated with either HSV2 or HCMV. Using a computer-aided semen analysis system, a slight difference was reported in the percentage of motile forms when seminal fluid-free sperm were incubated with HSV2 (57.18 versus 64.43 in the control). Although the mean amplitude of lateral head displacement and the curvilinear velocity were significantly higher in infected sperm, the difference in straight line velocity was not statistically significantly different. Few viral particles (HSV2 or HCMV) adhered to the sperm membrane in the presence of seminal fluid. However, more particles stuck when in the absence of seminal fluid, particularly with HSV2 (8% of sperm sections for HSV2; 4% for HCMV). CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between sperm and viruses depends on the type of virus present as well as the presence or absence of seminal fluid. Motility is not a good enough criterion on which to prove the presence of viral elements, either in the medium or on the sperm.

Key words: cytomegalovirus/Herpesviridae/human sperm/motility/seminal fluid

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: anne-marie.courtot{at}inserm.ipsc.u-psud.fr


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