Enhancement in motility of sperm co-incubated with cumulus oocyte complex (COC) in vitro

Abstract

Objectives To study the influence of cumulus cell co-culture on sperm motility under in vitro conditions. Study design Patients recruited for IVF were included in this prospective study. Among 30 subjects, 15 were normozoospermic and 15 were teratozoospermic. The oocyte cumulus mass was inseminated with optimum number of spermatozoa. Sperm motility was documented every 24 h after insemination. Results Sperm motility without co-culture declined with incubation time and complete loss of motility was observed at the end of 72 h. The inclusion of cumulus cells with sperm almost doubled the sperm motility at 48 h incubation time. At 72 h incubation time, the sperm + cumulus group had 14% total motility in comparison to 0% in the sperm alone group. When compared to the teratospermic group, the normospermic group did not show any significant difference with respect to sperm motility at 24 and 48 h both in the sperm alone and the sperm + cumulus groups. However at 72 h significantly higher ( P < 0.05) motility was maintained in the normospermic group. Conclusion The result of the present investigation suggests that co-culture with cumulus cells enhances sperm motility under in vitro conditions.