• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.319-322
• /
• 2005

Porous building materials are not only sources of indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) but they are also strong sinks of these pollutants. Volatile organic compounds have been implicated in impaired spermatogenesis, increase in the incidence of malformed sperm and decrease in the percentage of moving sperm. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the direct effects of various volatile organic compounds (phenol, formaldehyde; HCHO, ethanol, toluene, styrene) on motility and survival rate of human sperm in vitro. Semen samples from 3 health subjects were prepared using swim-up method and 1-10mM volatile organic compounds were added to the test medium. HCHO and phenol produced significant decreases in the motility and survival rate with a different potency. The most potent inhibition of motility and survival rate was observed after exposure to HCHO. Less than 1mM HCHO significantly inhibited sperm motility. When ethanol is added directly to sperm, at concentrations equivalent to that in serum after heavy drinking, these damaging effects were lowest compared with other volatile organic compounds. Present study shows that each compound has differential toxic potency to human sperm and we need special caution for the use of HCHO and phenol.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.193-199
• /
• 2005

The cryopreservation of germ cells, sperm and embryos, has been largely used to increase the effect of artificial reproductive techniques for human infertility, but the efficiency of germ cell cryopreservation has been conkoversial till now. Thus, the effect of the cryopreservation of human sperm used for ICSI and the effect of the cryopreservation of embryos produced by ICSI on fertilizatiof development and pregnancy were investigated. Sperm freezing did not affect fertilizatiort development and pregnancy rates. Also, there was no significant difference between ejaculated and testicular sperm in ferclizatiort development and pregnancy. Embryo freezing methods, slow freezing and vitrificatior did not differ each other in viability and pregnncy rates. However, ICSI embryo freezing significantly decreased pregnancy rate compared to fresh embryos freezing (p<0.05). In conclusiof this result suggested that cryopreservation of sperm for ICSI did not affect on the resulted embryo development and pregnancy, but ICSI embryo cryopreservation would significantly inhibit pregnancy.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.27-34
• /
• 1997

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of seminal vesicle fluid (SVF) on the acrosome reaction (AR) occurred spontaneously or induced by $Ca^{2+}$ ionophore A23187, follicular fluid, and progesterone in mouse epididymal sperm. SVF was divided into high (MW>10 kD) and low (MW<10 kD) fractions by ultrafiltration. The low MW fraction of SVF decreased the rate of spontaneous AR, however the high MW fraction did not. It suggested that the low MW fraction of SVF might have contained decapacitation factor(s) responsible for prolonging of time need for capacitation. When sperm preincubated for 60 min in the presence of SVF, the rate of AR induced by A23187 was decreased, but prolongation of preincubation time for 120 min significantly potentiated the AR by A23187. It suggested that addition of SVF into sperm preincubation medium imposed the epididymal sperm a condition similar to ejaculation. AR induced by human follicular fluid or progesterone was also inhibited by SVF. It suggested that substance in SVF might have affected AR of mouse sperm by inhibiting the interaction between AR inducing ligands and sperm surface receptors involved in acrosomal exocytosis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.45-50
• /
• 2015

Objective: Artificial oocyte activation (AOA) is an effective method to avoid total fertilization failure in human in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cycles. AOA performed using a calcium ionophore can induce calcium oscillation in oocytes and initiate the fertilization process. We evaluated the usefulness of AOA with a calcium ionophore in cases of total fertilization failure in previous cycles and in cases of severe male factor infertility patients with non-motile spermatozoa after pentoxifylline (PF) treatment. Methods: The present study describes 29 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-AOA cycles involving male factor infertility at Cheil General Hospital from January 2006 to June 2013. Patients were divided into two groups (control, n=480; AOA, n=29) depending on whether or not AOA using a calcium ionophore (A23187) was performed after testicular sperm extraction-ICSI (TESE-ICSI). The AOA group was further split into subgroups according to sperm motility after PF treatment: i.e., motile sperm-injected (n=12) and non-motile sperm-injected (n=17) groups (total n=29 cycles). Results: The good embryo rate (52.3% vs. 66.9%), pregnancy rate (20.7% vs. 52.1%), and delivery rate (10.3% vs. 40.8%) were lower in the PF/AOA group than in the control group. When evaluating the effects of restoration of sperm motility after PF treatment on clinical outcomes there was no difference in fertilization rate (66.6% vs. 64.7% in non-motile and motile sperm, respectively), pregnancy rate (17.6% vs. 33.3%), or delivery rate (5.9% vs. 16.7%) between the two groups. Conclusion: We suggest that oocyte activation is a useful method to ensure fertilization in TESE-ICSI cycles regardless of restoration of sperm motility after PF treatment. AOA may be useful in selected patients who have a low fertilization rate or total fertilization failure.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.02a
• /
• pp.183-191
• /
• 2000

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.311-318
• /
• 1996

Mycoplasmas have long been suspected of contributing to involuntary infertility in couples. However considerable disagreement exits concerning the role of genital mycoplasma infection in human infertility. Several investigators have noted abnormalities in the semen analysis of men with positive mycoplasma cultures, and early epidemiologic studies indicated that Ureaplasma urealyticum was linked to human reproductive failure on the basis of higher frequencies of isolation from infertile versus fertile couples and successful pregnancies in infertile couples after doxycycline therapy. However, subsequent investigators have questioned these findings because there are many studies in which treatment for mycoplasma in the male or female did not demonstrate an improved pregnancy rate, and semen samples from unexplained infertile men containing ureaplasmas have not revealed poorer motility, fewer spermatozoa and more aberrant forms. The objective of this study were to investigate the incidence rate of mycoplasma in semen and to investigate whether the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes significant difference to the semen volume, sperm motility and sperm counts. The results were that the rate of isolation of mycoplasma species was 70.3%. Semen volume is $2.84{\pm}1.01ml$ for culture negative and $3.15{\pm}1.42ml$ for culture positive group. Sperm motility is $46.23{\pm}15.80%$ for culture negative and $50.09{\pm}15.69%$ for culture positive group, and sperm count is $95.47{\pm}47.14({\times}(P)10^6/ml)$ for culture negative and $86.73{\pm}47.59({\times}10^6/ml)$ for culture positive group. In conclusion, we suggest that the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes no significant differences to the sperm parameters.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2006.06a
• /
• pp.160.2-160.2
• /
• 2006

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.32 no.12
• /
• pp.1115-1122
• /
• 2008

This paper presents a new microchip which can separate motile sperm by chemotaxis. The microchip was developed to create longitudinal concentration gradient in the microchannel due to diffusion. Linearly good concentration gradient of chemoattractant was generated without any fluid control devices. In sperm separation experiment with the developed microchip, mouse sperm was used as sample and acetylcholine was selected as chemoattractant. Human tubal fluid (HTF), buffer solution, was introduced into the microchannel of the microchip and attractants diluted in ratio of 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64 including control (DI water) were dropped in each outlet by $2\;{\mu}l$ volume with micropippet. After 5min, $1\;{\mu}l$ sperm solution was dropped into inlet of the chip. After 10 min, when sperms reached to the outlet by chemotaxis, we counted sperms in each outlet by using microscopy. Consequently, we could separate progressive motile sperm with the new microchip. In the experiment, the most sperms were isolated at the outlet dropped with 1/16 diluted solution. The optimal concentration gradient to induce chemotaxis was about 0.625 mg/ml/mm.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.67-75
• /
• 2019

Objective: Sperm cryopreservation has been widely used in assisted reproductive technology, as it offers great potential for the treatment of some types of male infertility. However, cryopreservation may result in changes in membrane lipid composition and acrosome status, as well as reductions in sperm motility and viability. This study aimed to evaluate sperm DNA fragmentation damage caused by conventional freezing using the sperm chromatin dispersion test. Methods: In total, 120 fresh human semen samples were frozen by conventional methods, using SpermFreeze Solution as a cryoprotectant. Routine semen analysis and a Halosperm test (using the Halosperm kit) were performed on each sample before freezing and after thawing. Semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation were compared between these groups. Results: There was a significant decrease in sperm progressive motility, viability, and normal morphology after conventional freezing (32.78%, 79.58%, and 3.87% vs. 16%, 55.99%, and 2.55%, respectively). The sperm head, midpiece, and tail defect rate increased slightly after freezing. Furthermore, the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) was significantly higher after thawing than before freezing (19.21% prior to freezing vs. 22.23% after thawing). Significant increases in the DFI after cryopreservation were observed in samples with both normal and abnormal motility and morphology, as well as in those with normal viability. Conclusion: Conventional freezing seems to damage some sperm parameters, in particular causing a reduction in sperm DNA integrity.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.11a
• /
• pp.49-65
• /
• 2005