Sperm ultrastructure in patients with partial globozoospermia
LIU Hao-ran
YANG Liu
TIAN Hui
JI Yuan-yuan
HAN Xiao-fang
HUANG Xiang
Abstract：Objective:To investigate the morphological and ultrastructural differences between normal and round-headed sperm and the outcomes of assisted reproduction in patients with partial globozoospermia.Methods:We collected clinical information and semen samples from 6 cases of partial globozoospermia confirmed in our hosptials from March 2023 to March 2024,performed Diff-Quik staining of the samples,observed the sperm morphology under the light microscope and transmission electron microscope,compared the ultrastructures between round-headed and normal spermatozoa,and analyzed the clinical outcomes of assisted reproduction in the pa-tients.Results:Under the light microscope,the the round-headed sperm had no acrosomal structure,some with tail abnormalities;while under the transmission electron microscope,they exhibited dissolved plasma membrane,acrosomal absence,small acrosomes,nucleoplasmic granulation,huge central vacuoles,swelling,absence or irregular arrangement of mitochondria in the neck,and disor-ganized or missed 9+2 microtubules in the tail.All the 6 patients underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI),and 1 of them achieved pregnancy.Conclusion:The sperm organelle is morphologically damaged and ultrastructurally abnormal in some patients with partial globozoospermia,which may be a key factor for their infertility,and ICSI can help some of them to achieve fertility.
Keywords：round-headed spermatozoasperm morphologyultrastructuretransmission electron microscopyintracytoplasmic single sperm injection
Publication Date：2024-10-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 867-871 )