Bovine Mucus Penetration Test Research Articles

Penetration ability of human spermatozoa into standardized bovine cervical mucus (Penetrak) in patients with normal and pathological semen samples.

Semen samples from 89 men were analyzed and evaluated with a standardized bovine cervical mucus penetration test (Penetrak). 29 patients had a normozoospermia, 22 patients a teratozoospermia and 38 patients an oligozoospermia of various degree. The most important parameters of semen analysis were compared with sperm mucus penetration. The sperm mucus penetration test correlated best with progressive motility (r = 0.6758), followed by total motility (r = 0.6302), sperm count (r = 0.6190), and % normal spermatozoa (r = 0.5493) (p less than 0.01 for each correlation coefficient). In the group of patients with normozoospermia 6 cases had been detected with insufficient sperm mucus penetration and in both groups with subfertility 15 cases with adequate sperm mucus penetration. 8 semen samples with normal sperm count and normal sperm motility were used for IVF. Only 6 patients with normal sperm penetration (greater than 30 mm/90') the spermatozoa fertilized the ova, but not from two patients, who had a sperm mucus penetration of less than 30 mm/90'. The study demonstrated that standardized bovine mucus penetration test detects disturbances of sperm motility which may not be discovered by conventional semen analysis.

Risk factors for antisperm antibodies in infertile men.

The prevalence of anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs) in the general population is 0 to 2%; the prevalence in infertile men is much higher at 7 to 26%. However, the role of ASAs in male infertility remains controversial to date. Although several risk factors for ASA development have been defined (such as testicular torsion, varicocele, cryptorchidism, vasectomy, and genital tract infection), there are no specific indications for ASA testing. In order to examine if a single parameter exists identifying patients with elevated ASA titers, serum ASA testing was performed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 226 consecutive male patients. The new assay, synchron ELISA (Synelisa) used in our study represents a new type of ELISA without fixation of the sperm surface antigens by formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde. Therefore, the quantitative assay is highly sensitive and reproducible since the structure of sperm surface antigens is not altered by the fixation process. The prevalence of ASAs in this population was 14%, while the prevalence of the control group was 2.5%. Of all factors analyzed only a history of vasectomy, an acute epididymitis, and an abnormal result in the bovine mucus penetration test was associated with elevated ASA titers (P < .001). In addition, we could demonstrate a time related formation of ASAs in men after vasectomy.

The effect of cocaine on sperm motility characteristics and bovine cervical mucus penetration

To determine the in vitro effects of cocaine on sperm motility and bovine mucus penetration because cocaine abuse is associated with decreased sperm motility, and related compounds, such as procaine, are known to decrease sperm motility. Human semen samples were exposed to a range of cocaine concentrations and the effects quantified using computer-assisted sperm analysis and the bovine mucus penetration test. University research laboratory. Samples were obtained from 18 healthy volunteers. Normal semen samples were exposed to concentrations of cocaine ranging from 10 −11 to 10 −4 M. Motility characteristics were evaluated after 2 hours, and bovine mucus penetration was evaluated after 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours. Mucus penetration by washed sperm was also evaluated. Motility characteristics were evaluated using computer-assisted sperm analysis, and functional sperm motility was evaluated using the bovine mucus penetration test. Cocaine exposure decreased the percentage of motile sperm in a concentration-dependent manner with a maximum decrease of 23% at 10 −4 M but had no effect on other motility characteristics. Cocaine decreased bovine mucus penetration by 12% at high cocaine concentrations (10 −4 M), but increased penetration by 69% at low concentrations (10 −9 M). Washing sperm before cocaine exposure attenuated the increased sperm penetration. The ability of cocaine to decrease the percentage of motile sperm at high concentrations may explain the decreased sperm motility associated with cocaine use. Cocaine’s ability to augment sperm penetration at low concentrations suggests an interaction of cocaine with the sperm adrenergic system.

Bovine Mucus Penetration Test: An Assay for Fresh and Cryopreserved Human Spermatozoa

Bovine Mucus Penetration Test: An Assay for Fresh and Cryopreserved Human Spermatozoa