Isolation of a factor from human seminal plasma that promotes fertilization.

Abstract

EXTENSIVE studies on the seminal plasma of man and other species have attempted to define the role of various components on the metabolism of spermatozoa, on the female reproductive tract and on the motility of spermatozoa and their capacity to fertilize the ovum1–7. These studies have provided evidence of a role for fructose, cyclic AMP, prostaglandins and other constituents1,8. We report here a newly discovered small molecular weight substance in human seminal plasma with a beneficial effect on the fertilization by epididymal sperm of ova of two mammalian species.