Sperm dysfunction is the single most common cause of infertility, yet what is remarkable is that, there is no drug a man can take or add to his spermatozoa in vitroto improve fertility. One reason for the lack of prog...Sperm dysfunction is the single most common cause of infertility, yet what is remarkable is that, there is no drug a man can take or add to his spermatozoa in vitroto improve fertility. One reason for the lack of progress in this area is that our understanding of the cellular and molecular workings of the mature spermatazoon is limited. However, over the last few years there has been considerable progress in our knowledge base and in addressing new methods to diagnose sperm dysfunction. We review the current state of the field and provide insights for further development. We conclude that： （i） there is little to be gained from more studies identifying/categorizing various populations of men using a basic semen assessment, where an effort is required in making sure the analysis is performed in an appropriate high quality way; （ii） technological development is likely to bring the reality of sperm function testing closer to implementation into the clinical pathways. In doing this, these assays must be robust, cheap （or more appropriately termed cost effective）, easy to use and clinically useful; and （iii） clinical necessity, e.g., the need to identify the highest quality spermatozoon for injection is driving basic research forward. This is an exciting time to be an andrologist and, likely, a fruitful one.展开更多
Fertilisation in mammals involves many synchronized steps including spermegg adhesion. Prior to sperm-oolemma fusion, spermatozoa need to undergo the acrosome reaction （AR） or exocytosis. The universal belief, for ...Fertilisation in mammals involves many synchronized steps including spermegg adhesion. Prior to sperm-oolemma fusion, spermatozoa need to undergo the acrosome reaction （AR） or exocytosis. The universal belief, for many years, has been that the AR was initiated upon binding to the zona pellucida （ZP）. As such acrosomal proteins were not thought to be involved in the primary contact with the ZP. These proteins were only suggested to be biologically relevant once the sperm were attached to the ZP and during subsequent events. However,展开更多
文摘Sperm dysfunction is the single most common cause of infertility, yet what is remarkable is that, there is no drug a man can take or add to his spermatozoa in vitroto improve fertility. One reason for the lack of progress in this area is that our understanding of the cellular and molecular workings of the mature spermatazoon is limited. However, over the last few years there has been considerable progress in our knowledge base and in addressing new methods to diagnose sperm dysfunction. We review the current state of the field and provide insights for further development. We conclude that： （i） there is little to be gained from more studies identifying/categorizing various populations of men using a basic semen assessment, where an effort is required in making sure the analysis is performed in an appropriate high quality way; （ii） technological development is likely to bring the reality of sperm function testing closer to implementation into the clinical pathways. In doing this, these assays must be robust, cheap （or more appropriately termed cost effective）, easy to use and clinically useful; and （iii） clinical necessity, e.g., the need to identify the highest quality spermatozoon for injection is driving basic research forward. This is an exciting time to be an andrologist and, likely, a fruitful one.
文摘Fertilisation in mammals involves many synchronized steps including spermegg adhesion. Prior to sperm-oolemma fusion, spermatozoa need to undergo the acrosome reaction （AR） or exocytosis. The universal belief, for many years, has been that the AR was initiated upon binding to the zona pellucida （ZP）. As such acrosomal proteins were not thought to be involved in the primary contact with the ZP. These proteins were only suggested to be biologically relevant once the sperm were attached to the ZP and during subsequent events. However,
