IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO MOTILITY STUDIES OF TC-99M HMPAO LABELED SPERM CELLS

The motility of Tc-99m HM-PAO radiolabelled sperm cells, labelled as d escribed previously (Balogh et al., 1992), was studied. The active mig ration of spermatozoa was demonstrated in capillary tubes containing b ovine oestrous mucus, using an in vitro motility analyzer. Like nonlab elled sperm cells, the labelled spermatozoa covered a 4-5 cm distance in the capillary tubes during a 10-min run. In vitro motility testing of labelled spermatozoa from different animal species (cattle, rabbit, sheep, horse) did not reveal significant differences. The distributio n of spermatozoa within the female genital tract was studied in a prev iously described animal model (rabbit) and in two new models (sheep, c hicken). This method enables the determination and visualization of sp erm distribution by a noninvasive technique. The results of in vivo mo tility tests pave the way for the introduction of a method of unpreced ented specificity, which serves for studying the penetrability of the oviduct to spermatozoa.