Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 1, 143-149,
January 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Critical evaluation of methylcellulose as an alternative medium in sperm migration tests
1 The Assisted Conception Unit, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TG, 2 Reproductive Biology and Genetics Group, The University of Birmingham B15 2TH and 3 School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of human spermatozoa to penetrate methylcellulose (MC) and to compare this with penetration in hyaluronic acid. METHODS: Spermatozoa from normal (
20x106 sperm/ml, 50% progressive motility, 5% normal forms) and oligozoospermic (<20x106 sperm/ml) semen samples were allowed to swim into glass capillary tubes containing methylcellulose with a viscosity of 15 centipoise (cp) (MC15) and 4000 cp (MC4000), hyaluronic acid (rooster comb) or Sperm Select. Penetration of the spermatozoa at 1, 2, 3 and 4 cm were correlated with basic semen parameters (concentration, motility and morphology). The effects of temperature on penetration into MC4000 were explored at 17–37°C. RESULTS: Higher numbers of spermatozoa penetrated MC4000 (10 mg/ml) compared with MC15 and the hyaluronic acid preparations. There was a highly significant correlation between the number of spermatozoa at all migration distances in MC4000 (10 mg/ml) and semen parameters. Increases in temperature from 17–37°C were accompanied by significantly higher numbers of spermatozoa at each penetration distance. MC4000 at 10 mg/ml was at least as favourable to sperm penetration as human cervical mucus. Effective discrimination between normal and abnormal samples was achieved using MC4000 (10 mg/ml). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the potential use of methylcellulose (MC4000, 10 mg/ml) as a reproducible and effective alternative to hyaluronic acid in sperm migration tests.
Key words: cervical mucus/hyaluronic acid/methylcellulose/sperm penetration test
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: The Assisted Conception Unit, Birmingham Women's Hospital, BirminghamB15 2TG, UK. E-mail: c.l.barratt{at}bham.ac.uk
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. J. Smith, E. A. Gaffney, and J. R. Blake Mathematical modelling of cilia-driven transport of biological fluids Proc R Soc A, August 8, 2009; 465(2108): 2417 - 2439. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. M. Woolley, R. F. Crockett, W. D. I. Groom, and S. G. Revell A study of synchronisation between the flagella of bull spermatozoa, with related observations J. Exp. Biol., July 15, 2009; 212(14): 2215 - 2223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. Lefievre, K. Bedu-Addo, S. J Conner, G. S M Machado-Oliveira, Y. Chen, J. C Kirkman-Brown, M. A Afnan, S. J Publicover, W C. L Ford, and C. L R Barratt Counting sperm does not add up any more: time for a new equation? Reproduction, April 1, 2007; 133(4): 675 - 684. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. Bjorndahl, T. Connelly, J. Kirkman-Brown, and C. Barratt Reply: Development of a novel home sperm test - temperature range Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2006; 21(11): 3028 - 3029. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Bjorndahl, J. Kirkman-Brown, G. Hart, S. Rattle, and C.L.R. Barratt Development of a novel home sperm test Hum. Reprod., January 1, 2006; 21(1): 145 - 149. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. C. N. Chiu, M.-K. Chung, H.-Y. Tsang, R. Koistinen, H. Koistinen, M. Seppala, K.-F. Lee, and W. S.B. Yeung Glycodelin-S in Human Seminal Plasma Reduces Cholesterol Efflux and Inhibits Capacitation of Spermatozoa J. Biol. Chem., July 8, 2005; 280(27): 25580 - 25589. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. H. Owen and D. F. Katz A Review of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Human Semen and the Formulation of a Semen Simulant J Androl, July 1, 2005; 26(4): 459 - 469. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. L. Pixton, E. D. Deeks, F. M. Flesch, F. L.C. Moseley, L. Bjorndahl, P. R. Ashton, C. L.R. Barratt, and I. A. Brewis Sperm proteome mapping of a patient who experienced failed fertilization at IVF reveals altered expression of at least 20 proteins compared with fertile donors: Case report Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2004; 19(6): 1438 - 1447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Ola, M. Afnan, S. Papaioannou, K. Sharif, L. Bjorndahl, and A. Coomarasamy Accuracy of sperm-cervical mucus penetration tests in evaluating sperm motility in semen: a systematic quantitative review Hum. Reprod., May 1, 2003; 18(5): 1037 - 1046. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|