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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Infertility in the turkey. III. Effects of sera from sterile and fertile females on the fertilizing ability of spermatozoa.

In an attempt to understand the cause for spontaneous infertility in female turkeys, sera were obtained from a flock suffering this condition. These sera, from hens of known fertility, were tested for anti-fertility actions by incubating semen in them. After incubation, semen was inseminated into unrelated recipient hens. In the first of two experiments, semen incubated in sera from high fertility hens (average 89%) produced a fertility level of 72.7% over an 8 week period while semen incubated in sera from sterile hens significantly reduced fertility to 52.3%. In a second experiment sera from sterile donors again caused a significant reduction in the fertilizing ability of sperm (56.3% for sera from sterile hens vs. 73.5% for sera from high fertility hens). These results indicate the presence of a factor(s) in the sera of sterile hens which may be causally related to their infertility.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

From natural fertility to family limitation: the onset of fertility transition in a sample of German villages.

Utilizing data from a sample of German village genealogies, it is possible to document the changes in reproductive patterns on the family level that started to take place in Germany during the nineteenth century and formed the basis for the secular decline in fertility which eventually encompassed the entire country. One striking finding from this study was the substantial diversity among the small sample of villages in terms of the timing of the emergence of family limitation. While couples in all villages who married during the last half of the eighteenth century appeared to be characterized predominantly by natural fertility the emergence of family limitation began as early as the turn of the nineteenth century in some places and as late as the end of the nineteenth century in others. Occupational differentials with respect to family limitation were also examined. There is little evidence that changes in birth spacing played an important part in the initial phase of the fertility trnsition. Rather, the underlying process appears to involve a change from fertility patterns that were characterized by the absence of parity-dependent control to one in which attempts to terminate childbearing in response to the number of children already born becomes widespread.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

Murine cytomegalovirus and fertility: potential sexual transmission and the effect of this virus on fertilization in vitro.

Male mice were inoculated with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) to produce an acute generalized infection. Infections virus was recovered from both epididymal sperm and seminal vesicles as well as from uterine sperm collected from mated females, suggesting that MCMV might be transmitted sexually. Because the presence of virus in the ejaculate might affect the fertilization process, the effect of MCMV on the fertilization of mouse gametes and on subsequent embryonic development was studied in vitro. Although the fertilization rate was reduced when sperm were preincubated with infectious virus, this was also the case when heat-inactivated virus was used, leading to the conclusion that this effect was not due to a direct infectious interaction between virus and gametes. Subsequent embryonic development was normal, and there was no evidence of productive infection of the preimplantation embryo.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Prevention of in vitro fertilization of canine oocytes by anti-ovary antisera: a potential approach to fertility control in the bitch.

Antisera raised against canine ovaries were found to induce light scattering of the surface of the egg zona pellucida even when diluted 10,000 times, and to delay digestion of the zona by pronase. High concentrations of antiserum were required, however, to inhibit in vitro fertilization of the oocytes. Absorption of the antisera with canine ovaries removed these effects, whereas absorption with liver, uterus and serum did not. These results demonstrate the antigenicity of the canine ovary and suggest the plausibility of an anti-zona pellucida vaccine for bith control in the bitch.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

In vitro fertilization-conceived offspring exhibit altered Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 retrotransposition dynamics associated with long-term disease risks.

BACKGROUND: In vitro fertilization has transformed reproductive medicine, yet offspring conceived through in vitro fertilization display elevated risks for diverse long-term health conditions, with underlying mechanisms unclear. Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1, a mobile genetic element responsive to environmental stress, represents a potential mediator. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that in vitro fertilization procedures may act as an embryonic stressor that alters Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 dynamics, potentially contributing to genomic instability associated with long-term disease susceptibility. STUDY DESIGN: Umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood from 33 in vitro fertilization and 42 naturally conceived neonates were collected for whole-genome sequencing. Total Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 proportion in individual genome was counted with Bowtie2 software. De novo Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 insertion and Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 deletion were detected with Mobile Element Locator Tool. Three parent-matched in vitro fertilization-naturally conceived sibling pairs were included to control for genetic background. Disease association analysis was performed for genes within 500 kb of differential Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 sites in The Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Statistical analysis was performed using the R language. RESULTS: In vitro fertilization offspring demonstrate elevated global Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 content compared to naturally conceived controls (P=.04). This finding was corroborated in 3 sibling pairs from identical genetic backgrounds, where in vitro fertilization-conceived children consistently exhibited higher Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 levels than their naturally conceived siblings. Eleven genomic loci with differential Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 insertion frequencies and 14 loci with differential Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 deletion frequencies between in vitro fertilization offspring and naturally conceived controls were identified. Notably, these differential Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 sites demonstrated significant enrichment near genes implicated in metabolic, cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, and neoplastic diseases, conditions associated with in vitro fertilization conception. CONCLUSION: These findings provide preliminary evidence that in vitro fertilization conception is associated with increased Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 content and altered genomic distribution of Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 elements. The proximity of these differential Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements-1 sites to disease-associated genes suggests a plausible genomic mechanism linking in vitro fertilization-associated embryonic stress to elevated disease risk. This work provides valuable molecular insights that may inform the ongoing discussion about assisted reproductive technology safety and suggests that continued attention to genomic integrity in in vitro fertilization-conceived individuals would be beneficial.

Humans↗
PubMed1979

Analysis of human spermatozoal fertilizing ability using zona-free ova.

An in vitro fertilization assay employing zona-free hamster eggs was used to analyze human spermatozoal fertilizing ability. Human spermatozoa were preincubated for 18 to 20 hours in Biggers, Whitten, and Whittingham's medium (1971) at a concentration of 1 X 10(7) sperm/ml prior to the addition of zona-free superovulated hamster eggs. Eggs were examined microscopically 2 hours later for evidence of swelling or decondensing sperm heads in the cytoplasm. A total of 6266 eggs were examined in assays for both suspected fertile and infertile donors; 50 eggs/sample were examined. The percentage fertilization was found to range from 14% to 100% in the suspected fertile group with an average of 56.3%. The sperm concentration in this fertile group ranged from 22 to 303 million/ml with an average of 114. The suspected infertile samples yielded fertilization rates of 10% or less and an average count of 50.6 million/ml. These data suggest that human spermatozoa fuse with the vitelline membrane of zona-free hamster eggs and decondense with varying efficiencies. The percentage of fertilization in this cross-species system did not show a significant correlation with sperm concentration or motility. However, suspected infertile samples always yielded 10% or less fertilization in this assay. This method may have potential value as a diagnostic tool in evaluating human spermatozoal fertilizing capacity which avoids the ethical and logistcal problems associated with fertilization of human eggs in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Influence of seminal additives and packaging systems on fertility of frozen bovine spermatozoa.

The following recommendations and conclusions are based upon results of fertility and laboratory studies, and general trends from field investigations. Fertility results due to the addition of enzymes have been variable and contradictory. Flushing of ampules with dry, gaseous nitrogen prior to filling has become a routine practice in processing semen to be frozen. For control of Vibrio fetus and Leptospira pomona, 2,000 micrograms of streptomycin and 1,000 u polymyxin B sulfate should be added per milliliter of raw semen immediately after collection. The extender for initial dilution should contain the same concentration of antibiotics used for raw semen plus 500 u penicillin. The glycerol portion of the extender should contain 500 u penicillin per milliliter. The effect of addition of sugars on fertility has been highly variable. The primary beneficial effect is probably due to their cryoprotective properties. A myriad of concoctions have been added to bovine semen and the results have been highly variable with respect to both motility and fertility. Results of subsequent experiments have rarely proven that addition of exotic compounds or mixtures has been of value. Higher mean fertility was obtained with semen in straws in 14 of 21 comparisons with ampules. The differences in favor of straws ranged from 1.1 to 18.9; while the range in favor of ampules was .1 to 4.4 percentage points. Fertility obtained with pellets has ranged from minus 12.8 to plus 11.9 percentage points in nonreturn rate (NR), compared to the corresponding NR with semen in ampules. Fertility of semen in ampules was higher in five of eight studies. Fertility of pelleted semen has ranged from minus 9.5 to plus 6.0 percentage points compared with straws. Fertility was higher for semen in pellets in only one of five investigations. Pellets should not be used until the potential for pathogenic contamination and exchange of spermatozoa among pellets is eliminated. There is a potential for higher fertility with semen in straws as compared to other packaging systems, but the issue of liquid nitrogen (LN) entry and possible contamination of semen should be further investigated. In general, fertility obtained with semen frozen in the .25 ml straw has been equal to or higher than semen in larger packages. However, they cannot be unequivocally recommended due to other considerations. From laboratory studies, it appears that greater spermatozoan survival is obtained when semen frozen in straws is thawed in water at 35 C or above.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Cytological events associated with in vitro aged and fertilized rabbit eggs.

The morphogenetic events associated with rabbit eggs aged in vitro for 12 to 50 hours prior to mixing with sperm have been examined by light and electron microscopy. After 12 hours in culture, morphological alterations of the meiotic spindle and the cortex of unfertilized eggs were evident. By 24 to 50 hours in culture, unfertilized eggs contained subnuclei, structures which formed when individual and/or groups of meiotic chromosomes dispersed and becmae invested by a double-laminated structure reminiscent of a nuclear envelope. Although most eggs obtained 11.5 to 12 hours after induced ovulation and in vitro fertilized displayed morphogenetic patterns similar to those described for in vivo fertilized ova, some (10%) contained three pronuclei. Many eggs obtained 13 to 15 hours after induced ovulation and subsequently mixed with sperm in vitro appeared to undergo processes of fertilization typical of in vivo fertilized eggs, however, approximately 30% contained subnuclei in association with the male pronucleus. Few eggs (15%) aged 12 hours prior to in vitro fertilization displayed patterns of pronuclear development and association typical of fertilized unaged ova. Subnuclei developed in many of the fertilized ova. Supernumerary sperm nuclei, which did not develop into male pronuclei, were observed in some zygotes. Cleavage of eggs aged 12 hours prior to fertilization was abnormal or retarded. After 24 hours in culture approximately 16% of the eggs fertilized. Seventy percent of the fertilized eggs failed to support the development of a male or female pronucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Metabolic similarities between fertilization and phagocytosis. Conservation of a peroxidatic mechanism.

At the time of fertilization, sea urchin eggs release a peroxidase which, together with H2O2 generated by a respiratory burst, is responsible for hardening of the fertilization membrane. We demonstrate here that the ovoperoxidase of unfertilized eggs is located in cortical granules and, after fertilization, is concentrated in the fertilization membrane. Fertilization of sea urchin eggs or their parthenogenetic activation with the ionophor A23187 also results in (a) the conversion of iodide to a trichloroacetic acid-precipitable form (iodination), (b) the deiodination of eggs exogenously labeled with myeloperoxidase and H2O2, (c) the degradation of thyroxine as measured by the recovery of the released radioiodine at the origin and in the inorganic iodide spot on paper chromatography, and (d) the conversion of estradiol to an alcohol-precipitable form (estrogen binding). The iodination reaction and the binding of estradio occurs predominantly in the fertilization membrane where the ovoperoxidase is concentrated. From the estimation of the kinetics of incorporation of iodine, we determine that the peroxidative system is active for 30 min after fertilization, long after hardening of the fertilization membrane is complete. Most of the bound iodine is lost during the hatching process. Iodination of albumin is catalyzed by the material released from the egg during fertilization, when combined with H2O2 and iodide. Iodination, thyroxine degradation, and estradiol binding are inhibited by azide, cyanide, aminotriazole, methimazole, ascorbic acid and ergothioneine, all of which can inhibit peroxidase-catalyzed reactions. These responses of the sea urchin egg to fertilization are strikingly similar to the changes induced in polymorphonuclear leukocytes by phagocytosis and, in both instances, a peroxidative mechanism may be involved.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

The transition from natural to controlled fertility in Taiwan: a cross-sectional analysis of demand and supply factors.

Three factors are usually proposed as inducing the transition from natural to regulated fertility. Fertility regulation may occur when the demand for children is reduced; when general attitudes toward fertility regulaton become positive; and, finally, when such factors as infant and child survival prospects and natural fertility conditions improve. Applying the Easterlin framework for fertility determination, this paper considers the effect of these factors in the shift from natural to regulated fertility in Taiwan in 1965. Cross-sectional data for continuously married women aged 35-44 are used. The results indicate that, at the initial stages of the fertility transition, it is primarily an increase in the potential output of surviving children and a decline in the subjective costs associated with fertility regulation, rahter than a decline in desired fertility, that distinguish the natural fertility subpopulation from the regulating subpopulation.

Adult↗
PubMed2026

Phenotyping of post-fertilization sperm mitophagy determinants discovered in a mammalian gamete-based cell-free system.

The targeted, substrate-specific degradation of paternal mitochondria inside the zygote, known as post-fertilization sperm mitophagy, is a crucial and evolutionarily conserved early embryonic event. It ensures the exclusive maternal inheritance of the mitochondrial genome. Post-fertilization sperm mitophagy was initially thought to only be achieved via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Until pro-autophagic receptor proteins such as SQSTM1, GABARAP, as well as the proteasome-interacting ubiquitinated protein dislocase VCP, were identified as contributors to the degradation of the sperm mitochondria early after mammalian fertilization. This synergy of proteasomal and autophagic pathways ensures a timely degradation of sperm mitochondria shortly after fertilization. The discovery of these autophagic receptors lead researchers to believe there might be other autophagic receptors and determinants necessary for proper post-fertilization sperm mitophagy. Based on the established inventory of proteins from mass spectrometry trials of boar spermatozoa exposed to porcine oocyte extracts in an intra-specific porcine cell-free system (CFS), five candidate mitophagy determinants were further investigated in this study, namely LACTB, PRDX3, PSMA8, TOMM34, and FUNDC1. These proteins of interest were studied and validated by using in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocols, cell imaging of spermatids, spermatozoa, oocytes and zygotes, protein interactome analysis, and the porcine CFS. The proteins PSMA8 and TOMM34 behaved in accordance with our proteomic study predictions. The PSMA8 labeling increased after exposure to CFS; in agreement with the classification PSMA8 was given from the mass spectrometry findings. TOMM34 underwent a visible decrease in labeling after exposure to CFS, which also agreed with its proteomic classification; this labeling persisted in IVF zygotes. Except for LACTB, the examined proteins showed mutual interactions as well as interactions with previously identified sperm mitophagy factors in the STRING interactome analysis. Results from this study validate the novel porcine CFS as a valuable tool for the exploration of early fertilization events at a molecular level. Future phenotyping and functional studies using porcine CFS will advance the understanding of mitochondrial inheritance and zygotic development and potentially shed light on the origins of certain mitochondrial diseases arising from the failure of post-fertilization sperm mitophagy.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Fertilization in brown algae. II. Evidence for lectin-sensitive complementary receptors involved in gamete recognition in Fucus serratus.

Fertilization in Fucus serratus is directly proportional to the number of sperm added, saturating at approximately 250 sperm per egg with an apparent Km of 120 sperm per egg. The effect of a range of lectins on fertilization has been tested. Preincubation of gametes with Con A and fucose-binding protein (FBP) inhibited fertilization. At low concentrations this was by specifically binding to eggs; at high concentrations pretreatment of either gametes inhibited fertilization probably due to cytotoxicity. Fertilization was not inhibited by simple sugar haptens, but polysaccharides containing fucosyl or mannosyl residues (yeast mannan, fucoidan, ascophyllan) inhibited fertilization by binding to sperm. Pretreatment of eggs with alpha-fucosidase or alpha-mannosidase was effective in inhibiting fertilization. All the results indirectly demonstrate that fertilization in Fucus serratus is based on an association between fucosyl- and mannosyl-containing ligands on the egg surface and specific carbohydrate-binding receptors on the sperm surface.

Carbohydrates↗
PubMed1977

Assessment of relative fertility of males (cockerels and boars) by competitive mating.

When hens were inseminated with an equal number of spermatozoa from one of 3 Leghorn (L) and one of 3 Columbian (C) cocks in the 9 possible L and C combination, a hierarchy of fertility was established based on the proportion of chicks sired by each cock. A similar hierarchy was established for 3 Duroc (D) and 3 Yorkshire (Y) boars by mating gilts in rapid succession to one D and one Y boar. A second hierarchy of fertility was established by inseminating hens with 40 x 10(6) spermatozoa from only one cock or by mating gilts to only one of the boars. The hierarchies for the cocks and boars were essentially the same for each method. Minor discrepancies were observed for males which appeared to be nearly equally fertile when used alone or in combination with another male. After homospermic insemination, the hierarchy of cocks was identical whether the ranking was based on the percentage of eggs fertilized or on hatchability of fertilized eggs. Similarly, the boars ranked highest in fertility by double mating had higher conception rates, higher embryonic survival rates and larger litter sizes when used alone. Heterospermic insemination and double mating appear to be more efficient and sensitive than methods of estimating fertility which depend on homospermic insemination of high or low numbers of spermatozoa, single matings or the examination of various characteristics of semen. The method of heterospermic insemination or double mating offers a simple and effective method of assessing the relative fertility of males.

Animals↗