The effect of relaxin on the motility of sperm in freshly thawed human semen

J. B. Lessing, S. H. Brenner, C. Schoenfeld, L. T. Goldsmith, R. D. Amelar, L. Dubin, G. Weiss

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

In an attempt to improve the motility of thawed spermatozoa after 1 week of its being frozen, we treated ten normal semen samples with 16.7 nmol relaxin and 6 mmol caffeine. Motility and grade of forward progression were examined after thawing. Caffeine significantly improved motility of spermatozoa. Relaxin, when added to semen at the time of thawing, improved motility and grade of forward progression significantly. This effect was not seen if relaxin was added before freezing. These results suggest that the biologic activity of relaxin is adversely affected by freezing and thawing in seminal plasma. These observations may have clinical importance for the improvement of motility of frozen spermatozoon samples at the time of artificial insemination and for the possible improvement of pregnancy rates.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)406-409
Number of pages4
JournalFertility and Sterility
Volume44
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Mellon Foundation
National Institutes of Health
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentR01HD012395

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