Ahmadi A, Ng S C
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National University of Singapore, Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore.
Hum Reprod. 1999 Sep;14(9):2279-85. doi: 10.1093/humrep/14.9.2279.
We report the first detailed and systematic study in a mammalian system to unravel the mystery of the beginnings of life. The fertilizing ability of damaged spermatozoa at various levels of disintegration (cellular and molecular) has been investigated in homologous (mouse) and heterologous (human spermatozoon, hamster oocyte) models. Live pups were produced after destruction of spermatozoa at various cellular and molecular levels followed by injection into oocytes. We demonstrate that with damaged spermatozoa, the key point in the fertilization process is the activation of the oocyte by injection of cytosolic sperm factor. A similar fertilization rate as that using live intact spermatozoa can be achieved following activation. However, the integrity of the genetic material influenced in-vitro development of the embryos and live fetuses. This study contributes to a better understanding of the fertilizing ability of damaged spermatozoa. These findings can be applied clinically to patients with necrozoospermia or very severe oligozoospermia and in wildlife research where damaged spermatozoa from rare species can be used to regenerate young, and hence propagate the species. Also implied is the possible contribution of sperm DNA strand breakage to early pregnancy loss.
我们报告了在哺乳动物系统中进行的首次详细且系统的研究，以揭开生命起源之谜。在同源（小鼠）和异源（人类精子、仓鼠卵母细胞）模型中，研究了不同解体水平（细胞和分子水平）的受损精子的受精能力。在对精子进行不同细胞和分子水平的破坏后，将其注入卵母细胞，成功产出了活体幼崽。我们证明，对于受损精子，受精过程的关键在于通过注入胞质精子因子来激活卵母细胞。激活后可实现与使用活的完整精子相似的受精率。然而，遗传物质的完整性影响了胚胎和活体胎儿的体外发育。这项研究有助于更好地理解受损精子的受精能力。这些发现可临床应用于死精症或非常严重的少精症患者，以及野生动物研究中，在野生动物研究中，珍稀物种受损的精子可用于繁育幼崽，从而繁衍该物种。这也暗示了精子DNA链断裂可能对早期流产有影响。
