EPITHELIAL-CELL COCULTURE AND THE INDUCTION OF SPERM CAPACITATION

Objective: To investigate the influence of cultured human oviductal ep ithelial cells on the movement characteristics of human spermatozoa. D esign: Human spermatozoa were cultured with monolayers of human epithe lial or Vero cells or conditioned media derived from these cell types. The viability and movement characteristics of the cells was subsequen tly analyzed at 4, 24, and 48 hours. Setting: University hospital and Medical Research Council laboratories. Patients, Participants: Volunte er donors. Main Outcome Measures: Movement characteristics of human sp ermatozoa. Results: The presence of both Vero and oviductal epithelial cells, but not conditioned media, had a general promoting effect on s perm survival, significantly enhancing sperm viability and motility fo r up to 48 hours of culture. In addition, the presence of oviductal ep ithelial cells had a specific, significant stimulatory effect on sperm capacitation, enhancing the incidence of hyperactivated motility afte r 4, 24, and 48 hours of culture. Significantly, this effect was not o bserved with cocultures containing Vero cells. Conclusions: The coincu bation of human spermatozoa with human oviductal epithelial cells prov ides a convenient system for the induction and analysis of sperm capac itation.