Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on April 14, 2005
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh899
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/7/1933    most recent
deh899v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nakamura, S.
Right arrow Articles by Okamura, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nakamura, S.
Right arrow Articles by Okamura, K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received December 16, 2004
Revised February 13, 2005
Accepted March 4, 2005

Article

A trial to restore defective human sperm centrosomal function

Soichi Nakamura 1, Yukihiro Terada 1*, Vanesa Y. Rawe 2, Shigeki Uehara 3, Yuki Morito 1, Tomoko Yoshimoto 1, Masahito Tachibana 1, Takashi Murakami 1, Nobuo Yaegashi 1, and Kunihiro Okamura 1

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8574, Japan,
2 Pittsburgh Development Center, Magee-Woman's Research Institute, Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA and
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku Kosai Hospital, 2-3-11 Kokubun-chou, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0803, Japan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Yukihiro Terada, E-mail: terada{at}mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: In human fertilization, sperm centrosome function is essential for male and female pronuclear movement and fusion. In this study, we investigated the possibility of restoring human sperm centrosomal function in sperm exhibiting abnormalities in microtubule organization. METHODS: Semen was obtained from both a fertile donor and a patient with dysplasia of the fibrous sheath (DFS). Following heterologous ICSI using human sperm, we examined microtubules and chromatin configuration in bovine oocytes. Sperm were treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) prior to ICSI, while the oocytes were treated with the cytoskeletal stabilizer paclitaxel after ICSI. RESULTS: The combination of DTT and paclitaxel treatment induced microtubule organization in dead sperm from the fertile donor following heterologous ICSI. This treatment, however, was not effective for DFS sperm. In addition, expression of centrin, a protein functioning within the sperm centrosome, was reduced in DFS sperm from that of the normal levels observed in fertile donor sperm. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that sperm centrosomal function could be induced by the treatment of sperm with DTT before ICSI and of oocytes with paclitaxel after ICSI. DFS sperm are likely to exhibit such severe dysfunction of sperm centrosome that cannot be compensated for by this treatment; therefore, this method may be a practical way to discern the degree of sperm centrosomal dysfunction.

Keywords: cytoskeleton; drug; fertilization; infertility; sperm centrosome.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Biol. Reprod.Home page
P. Comizzoli, D. E. Wildt, and B. S. Pukazhenthi
Poor Centrosomal Function of Cat Testicular Spermatozoa Impairs Embryo Development In Vitro after Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
Biol Reprod, August 1, 2006; 75(2): 252 - 260.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.