Brooks A. Keel

Reduced Motility Longevity in Thawed Human Spermatozoa

Fifty ejaculates from donors serving on an AID panel were divided into two 0.5 aliquots and evaluated for initial motility and kinetics. The first aliquot was then diluted with Tyrode solution and incubated in a Tyrode atmosphere at 37 degrees C. Motility and kinetics were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, and 9 hr. The second aliquot was frozen and thawed 24 hr later. The aliquot was then diluted with Tyrode solution, incubated, and evaluated as before. The results indicate a significant reduction in motility longevity of the thawed aliquots. A significant reduction in kinetics of the thawed aliquots was also discovered. These findings suggest that decreased motility longevity of thawed semen may offer an explanation for reduced pregnancy rates using cryopreserved semen.

Protecting America's secrets while maintaining academic freedom.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax mail attacks, have had a profound impact on Americans’ personal and professional lives and have sparked an active debate regarding the delicate balance between the need for national security and the pursuit of academic freedom. Although academic freedom can be defined in many ways, there are four primary tenets of freedom in an academic environment: freedom to research, freedom to publish, freedom to teach, and freedom to speak. Each of these tenets has come under attack in the wake of September 11, 2001. In this report the author further defines academic freedom and reflects upon recent events that have had a real or perceived impact on this freedom, including (1) attempts to categorize and restrict some research as “sensitive,” (2) implementation of export control laws and select agent regulations, (3) limitations on the publication of research findings, (4) prohibition of certain foreign nationals from collaborating with U.S. researchers and receiving education and training in U.S. colleges and universities, and (5) restraint of faculty free speech. The author offers some suggestions as to how academia might achieve a proper balance between protecting our national security while promoting and maintaining academic freedom.

Correlation of human sperm motility characteristics with an in vitro cervical mucus penetration test**Supported by the Women’s Research Institute, Wichita, Kansas.

Semen analysis was performed on 226 ejaculates by an integrated microcomputerized system employing the multiple-exposure photography (MEP) method. Mucus penetration tests were performed in vitro using commercial preparations of bovine cervical mucus. A highly significant (P less than 0.001) correlation between mucus penetration distance and sperm count (r = 0.582), motility (r = 0.357), velocity (r = 0.569), motile density (r = 0.582), motility index (r = 0.467), and morphology (r = 0.383) was observed. Increased percentages of immature germ cells (r = -0.318) and bent-tailed sperm (r = -0.221) were the most strongly correlated with mucus penetration. Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with otherwise normal semen parameters displayed poor penetration of mucus. Conversely, 5% to 40% of patients with abnormal semen parameters displayed excellent penetration of the mucus. Motile density and velocity demonstrated the strongest relationship with the outcome of the mucus penetration test. These results suggest that a significant subpopulation of patients can be identified as having inadequate (or adequate) penetration of mucus with otherwise normal (or abnormal) motility characteristics.

Variation in the biologic and biochemical characteristics of human menopausal gonadotropin**Presented at the Forty-Third Annual Meeting of The American Fertility Society, September 28 to 30, 1987, Reno, Nevada, and awarded the Associate Member’s Forum Prize Paper.††Supported in part by the Wesley Medical Research Institutes and the Women’s Research Institute, Wichita, Kansas.

Lot differences in the biopotency of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) were evaluated and the potential biochemical basis was investigated. The in vivo biopotency of hMG was assessed by a unique bioassay that evaluates the number of ova shed in the cyclic hamster in response to hMG administration. Significant variation in hMG lots was observed using this assay. When subjected to chromatofocusing, hMG displayed five immunoreactive follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) isohormones and nine luteinizing hormone (LH) isohormones. The relative distribution of FSH, but not LH isohormones, was slightly but significantly different between the lots tested. These data indicate that significant differences exist in the ability of commercially available hMG to stimulate follicular development and ovulation. The biochemical basis for these differences in in vivo biopotency remains to be elucidated.