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PubMed1982

In vitro sperm cervical mucus penetration: studies in human and bovine cervical mucus.

The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of substituting bovine estrus cervical mucus (BCM) for human midcycle cervical mucus (MCM) for investigation of sperm cervical mucus (CM) interaction and evaluation of cervical factor in infertility. In vitro sperm cervical mucus penetration tests (ICMPT) were performed with the use of ejaculated human spermatozoa collected from fertile donors and infertile men. Tests were performed in a flat capillary tube with the use of MCM and BCM. Mean +/- standard deviation (SD) of sperm penetration in MCM was 32.3 +/- 15.5 mm and in BCM 27.3 +/- 12.1 mm after 90 minutes of migration. The difference was significant (P less than 0.001). A highly significant correlation was found between sperm penetration in MCM and BCM. The depth of sperm penetration in both human cervical mucus (HCM) and BCM was also significantly related to sperm count and motility. Positive correlation was observed between normal morphologic features and sperm migration in BCM but not in MCM. It is concluded that human sperm penetrate BCM at a slower rate than MCM, but BCM can be effectively substituted for HCM in laboratory testing of sperm penetration.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effect of caffeine on mucus secretion and agonist-dependent Ca2+ mobilization in human gastric mucus secreting cells.

Caffeine is known to stimulate gastric acid secretion, but, the effects of caffeine on gastric mucus secretion have not been clarified. To elucidate the action of caffeine on gastric mucin-producing cells and its underlying mechanism, the effects of caffeine on mucus glycoprotein secretion and agonist-induced [Ca2+]i mobilization were examined in human gastric mucin secreting cells (JR-I cells). The measurement of [Ca2+]i using Indo-1 and the whole cell voltage clamp technique were applied. Mucus glycoprotein secretion was assessed by release of [3H]glucosamine. Caffeine by itself failed to increase [Ca2+]i and affect membrane currents, while it dose-dependently inhibited agonist (acetylcholine (ACh) or histamine)-induced [Ca2+]i rise, resulting in inhibiting activation of Ca2+-dependent K+ current (I(K.Ca)) evoked by agonists. The effect of caffeine was reversible, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration was about 0.5 mM. But, caffeine did not suppress [Ca2+]i rise and activation of I(K.Ca) induced by A23187 or inositol trisphosphate (IP3). Theophylline or 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine (IBMX) did not mimic the effect of caffeine. Caffeine failed to stimulate mucus secretion, while it significantly decreased ACh-induced mucus secretion. These results indicate that caffeine selectively inhibits agonist-mediated [Ca2+]i rise in human gastric epithelial cells, probably through the blockade of receptor-IP3 signaling pathway, which may affect the mucin secretion.

Caffeine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Enzymes of human cervical mucus: a comparative study on fertile and infertile mucus and on the endocervical epithelium.

We report a comparative study on protein and enzyme content of human periovulatory cervical mucus and endocervical epithelium. The salient results of our investigation are summarized in the following three points: 1) The method of taking of cervical mucus samples may markedly affect the results of protein and enzyme assays. It is warmly advisable to collect mucus samples from the endocervical canal. 2) Cervical mucus from women diagnosed as having cervical-factor infertility is oligoproteic and lacks some enzyme activities always present in normal cases. 3) Human cervical mucus and endocervical epithelium are very similar as for the enzyme distribution, but show quite different LDH-isoenzyme patterns. In the latter tissue, the H subunits constitute about 77 per cent of the whole LDH, suggesting that this enzyme here is functioning to produce pyruvate rather than lactate.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Studies on the use of estrous bovine cervical mucus in the human sperm-cervical mucus penetration technique.

Estrous bovine cervical mucus (BCM) was evaluated as a practical substitute for midcycle human cervical mucus (HCM) in the sperm-cervical mucus penetration technique (S-CMPT). Analysis of semen samples from 299 men of infertile couples suggested that up to 95% of the S-CMPT analyses with BCM were compatible with results expected with HCM. Results from a secondary S-CMPT with BCM using donor sperm treated with seminal plasma or cervical mucus extracts from partners of infertile couples indicated 70 and 88% agreement with the clinical S-CMPT obtained with the semen and cervical mucus samples, respectively. Seminal plasma samples from men with serum antisperm antibodies decreased the ability of donor sperm to penetrate BCM in the Secondary S-CMPT. Our results indicate that estrous BCM possess those basic qualities of HCM that support human sperm motility, allow for normal sperm penetration, and interact with antibody-treated sperm to inhibit penetration and to produce the sperm shaking phenomenon.

Agglutination↗
PubMed1981

Sperm penetration into cervical mucus in vitro. III. Effect of freezing on estrous bovine cervical mucus.

The influence of the storages period on estrous bovine cervical mucus after it was stored in the freezing compartment of the laboratory refrigerator was evaluated by an in vitro sperm penetration test with human spermatozoa, laser light-scattering, and a spinnbarkeit test. Data obtained from the sperm penetration test were analyzed by a mathematical model that correlates the sperm motility with the sperm transport rate and the penetrability of the mucus. The tests showed that estrous bovine cervical mucus can be stored for up to 4 weeks at -12 degrees C without a change in its physical properties. The results of this study strengthen the suggestion that bovine mucus could be employed as a substitute for human cervical mucus.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of two anti-estrogens, clomiphene citrate and tamoxifen, on cervical mucus and sperm-cervical mucus interaction.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of two ovulation-inducing agents, clomiphene citrate and tamoxifen, on cervical mucus and sperm-cervical mucus interaction. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Forty couples with unexplained infertility attending infertility clinic. METHODS: Cervical mucus scoring and postcoital test done using the Moghissi system in a spontaneous cycle (control cycle) and with clomiphene citrate or tamoxifen (study cycles). RESULTS: Clomiphene citrate significantly decreased cervical mucus production, whereas tamoxifen significantly improved the total score. CONCLUSION: Tamoxifen is a better drug than clomiphene for ovulation induction in women with poor cervical mucus quality.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The kinetics of antibody production in mucus and serum of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) after vaccination against Vibrio vulnificus: development of a new method for antibody quantification in skin mucus.

Vibrio vulnificus serovar E, a bacterial pathogen for eels cultured in intensive systems, is transmitted through water and enters into new hosts mainly via gills. The main objective of this work was to study the kinetics of antibody production to V. vulnificus in serum and mucus and their relationship with protection after vaccination. To quantify local mucus antibodies, a new "in situ" dot blot immunoassay using image analysis has been developed. This assay was applied to measure antibody production in the skin zone next to the gills. We found that (i) the immune response in mucus was faster (peak at days 3-4) and shorter in duration (titres significantly elevated up to day 5 and 11 for skin zone next to the gills and for general cutaneous mucus, respectively) than in serum (peak at day 7; titres significantly elevated for more than 25 days); (ii) the exposure of vaccinated eels with basal levels of local antibodies to sub-lethal dose of the pathogen stimulated a more lasting secreted antibody production (for more than 14 days); (iii) protection and antibody levels in serum were clearly correlated, and (iv) immunised eels with basal levels of serum antibodies and maximal levels of local antibodies were partially protected.

Anguilla↗
PubMed2006

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulates mucus secretion, but nitric oxide has no effect on mucus secretion in the ferret trachea.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and nitric oxide (NO) are neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of bronchial and pulmonary vascular tone. Published studies of the effects of VIP on airway mucus secretion have yielded conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of VIP on mucus secretion in the ferret trachea and if this effect was influenced by NO. We used a sandwich enzyme-linked lectin assay to measure mucin secretion and a turbidimetric assay to measure lysozyme (serous cell) secretion from ferret tracheal segments. VIP (10(-7) M) increased mucin secretion over 2 h. VIP (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) stimulated mucin secretion in a dose-dependent fashion. VIP-induced mucin secretion was partially blocked by a VIP receptor antagonist (a chimeric VIP-pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide analog, VIP receptor antagonist) at a 10-fold excess concentration. At all concentrations tested, neither NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor of NO synthase, nor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine, an NO donor, had any significant effect on constitutive or VIP-induced mucus secretion. We conclude that VIP-stimulated mucin and lysozyme secretion was both time dependent and dose dependent and that NO neither stimulates nor inhibits mucus secretion in the ferret trachea.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Immunoglobulins, proteinase inhibitors, albumin, and lysozyme in human cervical mucus. I. Communication: hormonal profiles and cervical mucus changes--methods and results.

The serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol-17beta, and progesterone were determined simultaneously with the concentrations of immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA, C'3, alpha1-antitrypsin, inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor, alpha1x-antichymotrypsin, albumin, and lysozyme in cervical mucus during nine ovulatory cycles. Spinnbarkeit and ferning were also assessed, and the basal body temperature was measured and recorded during these cycles. The profiles were synchronized according to the LH peak. The midcycle period, characterized by the rapid increase and decline of estrogen and the beginning rise of progesterone, shows a prounced minimum of immunoglobulins, C'3, proteinase inhibitors, albumin, and lysozyme in cervical mucus, which is known to be most receptive to sperm penetration at this time. Although the variation of cervical mucus values is considerable during the early proliferative and the luteal phases, the midcycle values appear to be constantly low, showing slight differences among the profiles of the different parameters. The statistical evaluation and the assessment of the significance of parameters for ovulation detection and the assessment of the fertile period as well as the correlation of these parameters with basal body temperature will be the subject of the second communication of this series.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Studies on bonnet monkey cervical mucus. The effect of proteases on mucus glycoproteins of Macaca radiata.

The influence of proteinases on monkey cervical glycoproteins was investigated to assess their effect on cervical mucus and, thereby, on sperm penetration. The major component of periovulatory cervical mucus, a high molecular weight glycoprotein, was treated with Pronase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, and bovine seminal peptidase, and the enzyme-resistant glycoprotein was purified by gel filtration on Sepharose 2B. A macromolecular component in high yield was recovered containing carbohydrate and protein moieties. Asialoglycoprotein, on treatment with Pronase, trypsin, and bovine seminal peptidase released more than one glycoprotein fragment. The carbohydrate and amino acid components of the native and degraded glycoproteins were similar in composition with variations in proportions. The structure of the carbohydrate-rich, pronase-resistant glycoprotein, further purified on Sepharose 2B, was examined. Sequential Smith degradation and methylation of the degraded glycoprotein fragment established a structure that shows some differences to that of the native glycoprotein. The influence of proteinases on cervical-mucus glycoproteins and a possible mechanism of sperm penetration through Pronase-treated glycoproteins is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Demonstration of a pH gradient across mucus adherent to rabbit gastric mucosa: evidence for a 'mucus-bicarbonate' barrier.

We examined the ability of the mucus layer adherent to isolated pieces of rabbit gastric mucosa to maintain a pH gradient across it. Using antimony microelectrodes, a stable pH gradient was detected from pH 2.31 +/- 0.04 on the luminal side to pH 7.26 +/- 0.15 (n = 22) on the epithelial side of the mucus layer. The gradient was maintained for at least 60 minutes. A metabolic inhibitor, potassium cyanide, markedly reduced the tissues' ability to maintain this pH gradient, suggesting involvement of an active cellular process, probably that of bicarbonate secretion. These observations provide additional evidence in favour of a 'mucus-bicarbonate' barrier which may be of importance in protecting the underlying gastric mucosa.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of sodium fluoride on water and acid secretion, soluble mucus and adherent mucus of the rat stomach.

Chronic and acute ingestion of fluoride may lead to both structural and functional alterations of the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sodium fluoride on gastric secretion and mucosal barrier. Filling the rat stomach for 1 h with sodium fluoride (5 and 20 mmol/L) induced an increase in fluid, fucose and galactose output. This effect was accompanied by a marked pH-dependent reduction of titratable acidity of the lumen. The amount of Alcian blue bound to adherent mucus was reduced in a pH-independent manner by sodium fluoride. The absence of a correlation between soluble glycoproteins and adherent mucus suggests that sodium fluoride does not stimulate mucus secretion, but rather acts as a barrier-breaking agent by its accumulation, together with acid, into the mucosa.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hormone dependence of human cervical mucus and variability of mucus canalization and crystallization during the menstrual cycle.

Assessment of canalization and crystallization of human cervical mucus and their variability during the menstrual cycle has revealed a direct relationship with ovarian hormone levels. This hormone dependence of cervical mucus was clearly identified during the fertile phase, while it seemed to be hormone independent during the infertile phases. In fact, during the early preovulatory and the postovulatory phase, both canalization and crystallization showed the same morphological features in spite of the striking difference in hormonal levels. On the basis of these data and the already known heterogeneity of cervical secretion, it is suggested that one of the mucus components is hormone dependent while the other is hormone independent, their quantity modifications being quite opposite during the menstrual cycle. The hypothesis therefore indicates two different types of muciparous cells in the cervical crypts: normal muciparous cells--as in the other mucous epithelia--intermixed with others only secreting under the stimulus of ovarian hormones.

Cervix Mucus↗
PubMed2000

The mucin biosynthesis stimulated by epidermal growth factor occurs in surface mucus cells, but not in gland mucus cells, of rat stomach.

Although epidermal growth factor (EGF) accelerates gastric mucin biosynthesis, information on whether its activation is limited to the specific mucus-producing cells is lacking. In this paper, we investigated the effects of EGF on mucin biosynthesis and the expression of its receptor in distinct layers of rat gastric mucosa, including the possible participation of nitric oxide (NO). EGF enhanced the incorporation of [3H]glucosamine and [14C]threonine into the mucin in the full-thickness tissues of the gastric mucosa. This stimulation disappeared on the removal treatment of the surface mucosal layer chiefly consisting of surface mucus cells. The EGF-induced increase in [3H]-labeled mucin in the full-thickness mucosa was not suppressed by either NG-nitro-L-arginine (10(-5) M) or 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (10(-5) M). The EGF-receptor-mRNA expression was high in the surface mucosal layer but low in the deep and muscle layers of the stomach. These results suggest that EGF-induced stimulation of mucin biosynthesis is limited to the surface mucus cells of the rat gastric mucosa and is independent of the NO pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Results of in vitro sperm penetration tests in cervical mucus in the normal cycle and in mucus under the influence of the contraceptive pill.

Women who are either menstruating normally or taking a combined or sequential preparation for hormonal contraception were examined at intervals of 2 days with reference to the day of the cycle. The parameter studied was the in-vitro penetrability of the cervical mucus for sperms. Whilst the combined preparation completely blocked the cervical canal for the spermatozoa, the distance travelled by the spermatozoa under the influence of the sequential preparation was approximately the same as in the normal cycle. This study of the depth of penetration of the spermatozoa in relation to the hormonal situation was prompted not by contraceptive but rather by epidemiological considerations of cervical carcinoma.

Cervix Mucus↗
PubMed1983

Bonnet monkey cervical mucus glycoproteins. Study of the minor glycoprotein components of periovulatory phase mucus.

Two glycoproteins present in small quantities, in addition to a main glycoprotein, were isolated from the periovulatory phase mucus. The glycoproteins, obtained in minute amounts, showed distinct variations in the relative proportions of sugar residues. The results of analytical as well as chemical studies suggest the existence of two distinct molecular species differing in structure. The main component of the minor glycoproteins, Fraction A, Characterized by Smith degradation and by subsequent methylation and inhibition of hemagglutination, bears similarities to the periovulatory phase main glycoprotein. The other component, Fraction B, characterized by Smith degradation followed by inhibition of hemagglutination, shows structural resemblance to the premenstrual phase glycoprotein.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1988

[Bovine cervical mucus as a substitute of human cervical mucus].

The sperm penetration test (SPT) in cervical mucus (CM) is an important test in screening for sperm-CM incompatibility. For a routine SPT, a sufficient amount of preovulatory CM is necessary, but the amount of human CM is often inadequate. We examined estrous bovine CM as a substitute for human CM in the SPT. Preovulatory human CM and estrous bovine CM were collected and stored frozen at -20 degrees C until use. After being thawed at room temperature, the two CM samples were compared as to their pH, spinnbarkeit and ferning patterns, and it was found that they are quite similar. In Kremer's method of SPT, sperm penetration distance, density and motility were similar in human and bovine CM for 12 hours, but thereafter sperm motility became much lower in bovine CM than in human CM. The results of SPT with spermatozoa from patients with oligozoospermia were quite similar in both CMs. When spermatozoa pretreated with antisperm antibody were used for SPT, sperm penetration was completely blocked in human CM, but no inhibition was seen in bovine CM. From these results, we conclude that bovine CM can be substituted for human CM for some, but not all, purposes.

Animals↗