Sitali Muloongo C, Chelenga Madalitso
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 11;20(8):e0330009. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330009. eCollection 2025.
The steroid hormones progesterone (P4) and Estrogen (E2) are essential for reproduction in both male and female mammals. Steroid hormones can alter sperm function in vitro via several mechanisms, thereby facilitating fertilization of female germ cells. The purpose of this systematic review is to investigate the in vitro experimental models that are used to understand the functionality of sperm after receiving supplementation with E2 and P4 in samples obtained from animal species using sperm oviductal epithelial cells (OECs) co-cultures and cultures of sperm in culture media only without OECs.
A systematic literature search was conducted using Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed to examine in vitro experimental models involving E2 and P4, aiming to understand sperm functionality in animals with or without OECs in culture media. A total of 32 out of 660 retrieved articles met the inclusion criteria, from which data were extracted, synthesized, and presented in a descriptive format.
Sperm and oviducts from hamsters, mice, rats, monkeys, porcine, ovine, and bovine were used. Steroids E2 and P4 were administered at varying doses, either individually or in combination, with several studies observing dose-dependent effects on sperm function. In sperm-OECs co-cultures, P4 consistently promoted sperm hyperactivation, capacitation, and acrosome reaction (AR) via CatSper channel mechanisms, facilitating sperm release from OECs. Contrastingly, E2 delayed capacitation while enhancing sperm binding to the OECs. Similarly, supplementation of P4 in culture media alone without OECs induced sperm AR and capacitation, altered sperm motility, and improved in vitro fertilization (IVF) rates. Variations in motility and the binding ability of sperm to the isthmus and ampulla were reported in some studies.
The in vitro studies revealed that E2 and P4 alter sperm behavior dependent on dose, and improve sperm fertilizing ability in IVF programs across species. Future studies should focus on investigating and clarifying the species-specific sperm mechanisms following steroid hormone supplementation to enhance our understanding and improve the assisted reproductive technology outcomes.
甾体激素孕酮（P4）和雌激素（E2）对雄性和雌性哺乳动物的生殖至关重要。甾体激素可通过多种机制在体外改变精子功能，从而促进雌性生殖细胞的受精。本系统评价的目的是研究体外实验模型，这些模型用于了解从动物物种获得的样本在补充E2和P4后精子的功能，使用精子-输卵管上皮细胞（OECs）共培养以及仅在无OECs的培养基中培养精子的方法。
使用Web of Science、谷歌学术和PubMed进行系统的文献检索，以研究涉及E2和P4的体外实验模型，旨在了解在有或无OECs的培养基中动物精子的功能。在检索到的660篇文章中，共有32篇符合纳入标准，从中提取数据、进行综合并以描述性形式呈现。
使用了仓鼠、小鼠、大鼠、猴子、猪、绵羊和牛的精子和输卵管。甾体激素E2和P4以不同剂量单独或联合给药，多项研究观察到对精子功能的剂量依赖性影响。在精子-OECs共培养中，P4通过CatSper通道机制持续促进精子超活化、获能和顶体反应（AR），促进精子从OECs释放。相反，E2延迟获能，同时增强精子与OECs的结合。同样，仅在无OECs的培养基中补充P4可诱导精子AR和获能，改变精子活力，并提高体外受精（IVF）率。一些研究报告了精子活力以及精子与峡部和壶腹部结合能力的差异。
体外研究表明，E2和P4根据剂量改变精子行为，并提高跨物种IVF程序中精子的受精能力。未来的研究应集中于调查和阐明补充甾体激素后物种特异性的精子机制，以增进我们的理解并改善辅助生殖技术的结果。
