K. Sterzik et al., Glass wool filtration leads to a higher percentage of spermatozoa with intact acrosomes: an ultrastructural analysis, HUM REPR, 13(9), 1998, pp. 2506-2511
We investigated the possibility of ultrastructural damage to human spermato
zoa induced by different sperm preparation techniques. Ejaculates from 20 n
ormozoospermic men were divided into equal aliquots and processed by glass
wool filtration, Percoll density gradient centrifugation, and a simple two-
step centrifugation procedure which served as a control. The evaluation of
60 spermatozoa from each of 20 test subjects (in all, n = 1200) ensured tha
t a sufficiently large number of spermatozoa were investigated. Ultrastruct
ural damage was assessed by scanning electron microscopy, We investigated t
he state of the acrosome after sperm preparation and measured the percentag
e of intact spermatozoal structures compared with that of the control. Comp
ared with Percoll density gradient centrifugation, glass wool filtration yi
elded a significantly increased proportion of intact acrosomes, However, bo
th preparations gave significantly better results than the control. In conc
lusion, both glass wool filtration and Percoll centrifugation are efficient
techniques for the accumulation of spermatozoa with intact acrosomes, Beca
use of the significantly higher percentage of intact acrosomes, glass wool
filtration appears to be the more appropriate method. The significance of t
he conspicuous bending of sperm tails after Percoll centrifugation is not y
et known.