Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Development. 2018 Mar 19;145(6):dev157685. doi: 10.1242/dev.157685.
Mammalian sperm evolutionarily acquired complex mechanisms to regulate their behaviors, which are thought to be crucial in navigating through the female reproductive tract toward fertilization. However, all current knowledge of this process is largely extrapolated from and studies, because analysis of sperm in their native fertilization environment has not been possible. Here, we report a functional optical coherence tomography approach that allows, for the first time, three-dimensional tracking of sperm behaviors in the mouse oviduct. Motile sperm are identified with their intrinsic dynamic characteristics. Sperm trajectories are reconstructed in three dimensions with a ∼5 µm spatial resolution, allowing for quantitative analysis of the sperm velocity and location relative to the oviduct. Using this method, we found different behavior patterns, including sperm collection by the oviduct epithelium, spatial dependence of sperm velocity, and sperm grouping and separation as the first evidence of sperm cooperation in the ampulla, the site of fertilization. This approach opens new avenues to study sperm-oviduct interactions toward a more complete understanding of fertility and reproductive disorders.
哺乳动物精子进化出了复杂的机制来调节它们的行为，这些机制被认为在导航穿过雌性生殖道到达受精点的过程中至关重要。然而，目前对于这一过程的所有了解在很大程度上都是从 和 研究中推断出来的，因为 无法对其在天然受精环境中的精子进行分析。在这里，我们报告了一种功能性的光学相干断层扫描方法，该方法首次允许在小鼠输卵管中对精子行为进行三维追踪。具有内在动态特征的活动精子被识别出来。利用该方法，我们在三维空间中重建了精子轨迹，具有约 5 µm 的空间分辨率，可对精子相对于输卵管的速度和位置进行定量分析。使用这种方法，我们发现了不同的行为模式，包括输卵管上皮细胞对精子的收集、精子速度的空间依赖性以及精子的分组和分离，这首次证明了在受精部位的壶腹中有精子的合作。这种方法为研究精子-输卵管相互作用开辟了新途径，有助于更全面地了解生育能力和生殖障碍。
