Department of Reproductive Biology, Cytogenetics and Gynaecology, Poissy General Hospital, F-78303 Poissy, France.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2013 Aug;27(2):201-11. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.05.004. Epub 2013 May 16.
Since an embryo's ability to grow to the blastocyst stage and implant can be improved by selection of a normal spermatozoon with a vacuole-free head, this study set out to determine the nature of small sperm vacuoles observed under high magnification (>×6300). For 15 infertile men with various sperm profiles, high-magnification microscopy was used to select motile, morphometrically normal spermatozoa with no vacuoles (n=450) or more than two small vacuoles (each of which occupied less than 4% of the head's area; n=450). Spermatozoa acrosome reaction status and degree of chromatin condensation were analysed. Three-dimensional deconvolution microscopy was used to accurately image the nucleus and acrosome at all depths in all spermatozoa. In all 450 spermatozoa with small vacuoles, the latter were seen to be abnormal, DNA-free nuclear concavities. Spermatozoa with small vacuoles were significantly more likely than vacuole-free spermatozoa to have noncondensed chromatin (39.8% versus 9.3%, respectively; P<0.0001). There was no significant difference between the two groups of spermatozoa in terms of acrosome reaction status. No association between chromatin condensation and acrosome reaction status was observed. Small human sperm vacuoles observed under high magnification are pocket-like nuclear concavities related to failure of chromatin condensation.
由于可以通过选择没有空泡的正常精子来提高胚胎发育到囊胚阶段和着床的能力，本研究旨在确定高倍镜（>×6300）下观察到的小精子空泡的性质。对于 15 名具有不同精子形态的不育男性，使用高倍显微镜选择具有正常形态且没有空泡的运动精子（n=450）或具有两个以上小空泡的精子（每个空泡的面积小于头部面积的 4%；n=450）。分析精子顶体反应状态和染色质浓缩程度。使用三维反卷积显微镜可以在所有精子的所有深度准确地对核和顶体进行成像。在所有 450 个有空泡的精子中，这些空泡被发现是异常的、无 DNA 的核凹陷。有空泡的精子比无空泡的精子更容易出现非浓缩染色质（分别为 39.8%和 9.3%；P<0.0001）。两组精子的顶体反应状态没有显著差异。也没有观察到染色质浓缩和顶体反应状态之间存在关联。在高倍镜下观察到的人类小精子空泡是与染色质浓缩失败相关的袋状核凹陷。
