Ld. Klentzeris et al., A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN EXPRESSION OF BETA-1-INTEGRIN CELL-ADHESION MOLECULES AND FERTILIZING ABILITY OF HUMAN SPERMATOZOA IN-VITRO, Human reproduction, 10(3), 1995, pp. 728-733
The purpose of this study was to investigate firstly whether pl-integr
in cell adhesion molecules are expressed by human spermatozoa, and sec
ondly whether there is any relationship between the expression of pl-i
ntegrin cell adhesion molecules and the fertilizing ability of human s
permatozoa in vitro. A total of 50 semen samples were examined, The sa
mples were obtained from the male partners of couples undergoing in-vi
tro fertilization (IVF) for either unexplained, tubal or male factor i
nfertility. A panel of six monoclonal antibodies against beta 1-integr
in cell adhesion molecules and immunohistochemical techniques were use
d to identify the presence of these molecules on the spermatozoa, The
percentage of spermatozoa showing strong immunolabelling with each mon
oclonal antibody was assessed in each sample, The relationship between
these results and the aetiology of infertility and incidence of ferti
lization was examined. beta 1-integrins, and primarily the ones with a
lpha 4-, alpha 5- and alpha 6-chains, were expressed by human spermato
zoa, Compared with semen samples from unexplained or male factor infer
tility patients, samples from tubal infertility patients had a signifi
cantly higher (P < 0.05) percentage of spermatozoa expressing adhesion
molecules, There was a positive correlation between the expression of
alpha 4, alpha 5 and alpha 6 adhesion molecules and the fertilizing a
bility of spermatozoa. The positive correlation between the presence o
f certain beta 1-integrin cell adhesion molecules and the fertilizing
ability of human spermatozoa suggests that integrins may be putative d
eterminants in egg-sperm recognition and interaction.