Human Reproduction, Vol. 14, No. 1, 123-130,
January 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Morphology comparison of individually selected hyperactivated and non-hyperactivated human spermatozoa
Centres for Assisted Reproduction (CARE), The Park Hospital, Sherwood Lodge Drive, Burntstump Country Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 8RX, UK
The objective of this study was to compare the morphology of human spermatozoa undergoing hyperactivated motility in vitro with those that were non-hyperactivated (non-hyp). Hyperactivation criteria were established by the Hobson Sperm Tracker (HST), sampling at 25 Hz, as curvilinear velocity (VCL) 
70 µm/s, amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) 7 µm, linearity (LIN) 
30% and straight-line velocity (VSL) 30 µm/s. Specially developed software incorporated in the HST produced a white computer-generated overlay for spermatozoa satisfying hyperactivation criteria. These spermatozoa, visually identified on a tracking monitor, were individually removed with micromanipulation equipment using a 12 µm-diameter needle. Fifty-six patient ejaculates were examined comprising a total morphological analysis of 1886 non-hyp spermatozoa and 1051 hyperactivated spermatozoa. Hyperactivated spermatozoa had a significantly higher mean percentage of normal heads and small acrosomes (P < 0.0001 and < 0.0001 respectively) and a significantly lower percentage of large and round heads, midpieces and tail defects (P = 0.002, < 0.0001, 0.02 and < 0.0001 respectively) when compared with non-hyp spermatozoa. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that a homogeneous live population of human hyperactivated spermatozoa, selected in vitro from patients with highly variable degrees of teratozoospermia, is comprised predominantly of cells with normal morphology (P < 0.0001).
Key words: capacitation/hyperactivation/image analysis/morphology
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed
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