Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of female age on the capacity of the zona pellucida to bind spermatozoa. A total of 1008 unfertilized oocytes obtained from 210 women (aged 21-43 years) participating in the in-vitro fertilization programme were tested using a hemizona assay. Spermatozoa taken from a cryopreserved pool of fertile donor specimens served as a control in the hemizona assay, and were used to assess the ability of the zona pellucida to bind spermatozoa. The mean ± SD number of spermatozoa attached to the hemizona was 107 ± 42. The binding capacity of different oocytes from the same cohort varied substantially (coefficient of variation = 28%). Age was not found to be correlated with the number of spermatozoa bound to the zona pellucida (r = -0.02; P > 0.1). It was concluded that female age has no role in the ability of the human zona pellucida to bind spermatozoa. Key words: female age/spermatozoa/zona binding.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2368-2370 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Human Reproduction |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1995 |
Keywords
- Female age
- Spermatozoa
- Zona binding