THE LIFE-SPAN OF SPERM MOTILITY AND PATTERN IN CUMULUS COCULTURE

Objective: To study the effect of cumulus cell coculture on human sper m motility, life span, and patterns. Design: Controlled prospective st udy of 50 normal semen samples. Sperm motility and forward grade was o bserved in droplets of Ham's F-10 media with cumulus cell coculture an d compared with sperm in droplets of Ham's F-10 only. Setting: The Egy ptian IVF-ET Center. Main Outcome Measures: Sperm motility, life span, and forward progressive pattern. Results: The time course of loss of sperm motility in cumulus coculture was significantly slower than with out cumulus. Also, the percentage of motile sperm with linear progress ive motility of grade 4,3 was significantly higher in cumulus cocultur e. Conclusion: Cumulus cell coculture has a positive effect on prolong ation of sperm motility life span and its forward progression.