Achinger Luke, Kluczynski Derek F, Gladwell Abigail, Heck Holly, Zhang Faith, Good Ethan, Waggoner Alexis, Reinhart Mykala, Good Megan, Moore Dawson, Filatoff Dennis, Dhar Supriya, Nigro Elisa, Flanagan Lucas, Yadav Sunny, Williams Trinity, Ray Aniruddha, Shah Tariq A, Liberatore Matthew W, Avidor-Reiss Tomer
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Bioessays. 2025 Jun;47(6):e70002. doi: 10.1002/bies.70002. Epub 2025 Mar 22.
Spermatozoa reach the fallopian tube during ovulation by traveling through the female reproductive tract mucus. This non-Newtonian viscoelastic medium facilitates spermatozoon movement to accomplish fertilization or, in some cases, blocks spermatozoon movement, leading to infertility. While rheological properties are known to affect spermatozoon motility with in vitro models using synthetic polymers, their precise effects in vivo are understudied. This paper reviews the rheological measurements of reproductive tract mucus during ovulation in humans and model animals, focusing on viscosity and its potential effect on spermatozoa. Mucus viscosity in the female reproductive tract's different compartments is poorly understood. While information on this subject is incomplete, most mammals appear to have a viscosity decrease along their female reproductive tracts. Based on this sparse information, we hypothesize that viscosity changes in female reproductive tracts may guide spermatozoa to eggs, a novel concept that could improve our understanding of reproductive biology.
在排卵期间，精子通过女性生殖道黏液进入输卵管。这种非牛顿黏弹性介质既有助于精子游动以完成受精，在某些情况下也会阻碍精子游动，导致不孕。虽然已知流变学特性会通过使用合成聚合物的体外模型影响精子活力，但它们在体内的确切作用尚未得到充分研究。本文综述了人类和模型动物排卵期间生殖道黏液的流变学测量，重点关注黏度及其对精子的潜在影响。人们对女性生殖道不同区域的黏液黏度了解甚少。虽然关于这一主题的信息并不完整，但大多数哺乳动物的雌性生殖道似乎存在黏度降低的情况。基于这些稀少的信息，我们推测雌性生殖道的黏度变化可能引导精子找到卵子，这一新颖的概念可能会增进我们对生殖生物学的理解。
