Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Equine Vet J. 2012 Sep;44(5):542-9. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00523.x. Epub 2011 Dec 12.
Sperm motility is considered to be one of the key features of semen analysis. Assessment of motility is frequently performed using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Nevertheless, no uniform standards are present to analyse a semen sample using CASA.
We hypothesised that the type of counting chamber used might influence the results of analysis and aimed to study the effect of chamber type on estimated concentration and motility of an equine semen sample assessed using CASA.
Commonly used disposable Leja chambers of different depths were compared with disposable and reusable ISAS chambers, a Makler chamber and a World Health Organization (WHO) motility slide. Motility parameters and concentrations obtained with CASA using these different chambers were analysed. The NucleoCounter was used as gold standard for determining concentration.
Concentration and motility parameters were significantly influenced by the chamber type used. Using the NucleoCounter as the gold standard for determining concentration, the correlation coefficients were low for all of the various chambers evaluated, with the exception of the 12 µm deep Leja chamber. Filling a chamber by capillary forces resulted in a lower observed concentration and reduced motility parameters. All chambers evaluated in this study resulted in significant lower progressive motility than the WHO prepared slide, with the exception of the Makler chamber, which resulted in a slight, but statistically significant, increase in progressive motility estimates.
Computer-assisted sperm analysis can only provide a rough estimate of sperm concentration and overestimation is likely when drop-filled slides with a coverslip are used. Motility estimates using CASA are highly influenced by the counting chamber; therefore, a complete description of the chamber type used should be provided in semen reports and in scientific articles.
精子活力被认为是精液分析的关键特征之一。通常使用计算机辅助精子分析（CASA）来评估活力。然而，目前还没有使用 CASA 分析精液样本的统一标准。
我们假设使用的计数室类型可能会影响分析结果，并旨在研究使用 CASA 评估马精液样本时，不同计数室类型对估计浓度和活力的影响。
比较了不同深度的常用一次性 Leja 计数室与一次性和可重复使用的 ISAS 计数室、Makler 计数室和世界卫生组织（WHO）精子活力载玻片。使用这些不同的计数室通过 CASA 获得的活力参数和浓度进行了分析。NucleoCounter 被用作确定浓度的金标准。
使用的计数室类型显著影响浓度和活力参数。使用 NucleoCounter 作为确定浓度的金标准，除了 12 µm 深的 Leja 计数室外，所有评估的各种计数室的相关系数都较低。通过毛细作用力填充计数室会导致观察到的浓度降低和活力参数降低。本研究评估的所有计数室的总运动和前向运动参数均显著低于 WHO 准备的载玻片，除了 Makler 计数室，其总运动和前向运动参数略有增加，但具有统计学意义。
计算机辅助精子分析只能提供精子浓度的大致估计，使用带盖玻片的滴注载玻片时可能会高估。CASA 中的活力估计受计数室的影响很大；因此，在精液报告和科学文章中应提供使用的计数室类型的完整描述。
