Andrology: Two functional assays of sperm responsiveness to progesterone and their predictive values in in-vitro fertilization

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Abstract
We have recently reported, in a small cohort of subjects, that acrosome reaction (AR) and intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) increase in response to progesterone were significantly correlated with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) rate. In the present study we extended these results to 90 subjects undergoing IVF. We confirm that both parameters were highly significantly correlated with the fertilization rate (P2+]i values which increase by >1.2-fold and AR inducibility >7% (cutoff values). Conversely, AR following challenge with the calcium ionophore A23187 was less significantly correlated with the percentage fertilization rate (P95% when the combination of two tests ([Ca2+]i and inducibility of AR in response to progesterone) is considered. No correlation with fertilization rate has been found for spontaneous AR or basal [Ca2+]i. In conclusion, we propose that assessment of human sperm responsiveness to progesterone may be clinically useful in predicting fertilizing ability in vitro.