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Use of Failed-Fertilized Oocytes for Diagnostic Zona Binding Purposes After Sperm Binding Improvement with a Modified Medium

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Abstract

Purpose: Because the availability of prophase oocytes for zona binding testing is limited, we compared sperm binding to the zona of failed-fertilized intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) oocytes after incubation in a standard IVF medium and a specially composed binding improvement medium.

Methods: Semen samples from nine patients and nine fertile donors were separated in parallel by the standard swim-up method in both media. Subsequently, hemizona assays were performed with prophase, failed-fertilized ICSI and IVF oocytes.

Results: Sperm separation resulted in a significantly higher sperm count (P < 0.01) and progressive motility (P = 0.018) in binding improvement medium. Moreover, spermatozoa coincubated with hemizonae (prophase, failed-fertilized ICSI and IVF oocytes) in binding improvement medium bound significantly more to hemizonae than in the controls (P < 0.01). However, the hemizona index did not differ.

Conclusions: Thus, the limited number of human zonae can be increased by the use of oocytes that failed to fertilize during ICSI or IVF. This will lead to a qualitative improvement of the diagnostic spectrum in male-factor infertility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Dermatology and Andrology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Ralf Henkel, Christina Müller & Wolf-Bernhard Schill

  2. Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Thomas Stalf

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Reproductive Biology Unit, University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Hospital, Tygerberg, South Africa

    Daniel R. Franken

Authors
  1. Ralf Henkel
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  2. Christina Müller
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  3. Thomas Stalf
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  4. Wolf-Bernhard Schill
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  5. Daniel R. Franken
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Henkel, R., Müller, C., Stalf, T. et al. Use of Failed-Fertilized Oocytes for Diagnostic Zona Binding Purposes After Sperm Binding Improvement with a Modified Medium. J Assist Reprod Genet 16, 24–29 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022541511875

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