M.G. Da Broi

Influence of follicular fluid and cumulus cells on oocyte quality: clinical implications

An equilibrium needs to be established by the cellular and acellular components of the ovarian follicle if developmental competence is to be acquired by the oocyte. Both cumulus cells (CCs) and follicular fluid (FF) are critical determinants for oocyte quality. Understanding how CCs and FF influence oocyte quality in the presence of deleterious systemic or pelvic conditions may impact clinical decisions in the course of managing infertility. Given that the functional integrities of FF and CCs are susceptible to concurrent pathological conditions, it is important to understand how pathophysiological factors influence natural fertility and the outcomes of pregnancy arising from the use of assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs). Accordingly, this review discusses the roles of CCs and FF in ensuring oocyte competence and present new insights on pathological conditions that may interfere with oocyte quality by altering the intrafollicular environment.

Magnetic-activated cell sorting before density gradient centrifugation improves recovery of high-quality spermatozoa

Recent studies have evaluated the use of magnetic‐activated cell sorting (MACS) to reduce apoptotic spermatozoa and improve sperm quality. However, the efficiency of using MACS alone, before or after sperm processing by density gradient centrifugation (DGC) has not yet been established. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal protocol of MACS in assisted reproduction techniques (ART). Thus, we compared sperm quality obtained by DGC alone (DGC), DGC followed by MACS (DGC‐MACS), MACS followed by DGC (MACS‐DGC), and MACS alone (MACS), and found that the combined methods (MACS‐DGC and DGC‐MACS) led to retrieval of less spermatozoa with fragmented DNA compared to the single protocols. However, MACS‐DGC protocol led to a significantly higher percentage of spermatozoa with progressive motility and normal morphology than DGC‐MACS protocol. These findings suggest the potential clinical value of using MACS‐DGC to improve sperm quality in seminal preparation for ART.