Zona pellucida binding improvement effect of different sperm preparation techniques is not related to changes in sperm motility characterizations

Objective: To study the relation between changes in sperm motion characteri stics and sperm binding capacity to the zona pellucida (ZP) after different sperm preparation techniques. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Andrology laboratory at the Lis Maternity Hospital. Patient(s): Sixty-three infertile men. Intervention(s): In vitro preparation of 57 sperm samples by pentoxifylline (PTX), 38 samples by SpermPrep I(SP1), and 27 samples by mini-Percoll (mPE R). Sperm preparation was evaluated in comparison with the control washing technique. Main Outcome Measure(s): Motility variables and binding capacity. Result(s): Binding capacity after PTX, SP1, and mPER preparation methods wa s significantly higher compared with the control medium preparation. Comput er-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) of sperm motility revealed a significant increase in a number of variables after the different treatments. A statist ically significant but low correlation was observed between sperm binding c apacity after control swim-up preparation and VAP (r = 0.27) as well as wit h VSL (r = 0.30). No significant correlations were found between the change s in the CASA and the improved sperm binding to the ZP. Conclusion(s): The two biologic effects of binding capacity enhancement and motility features improvement are not related. Furthermore, because the bi nding assay is highly correlated with fertilization capacity, these alterat ions in motility, as evidenced by CASA, probably have a minor effect on fer tilization in vitro. (C) 2000 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine .