Effect of follicular fluid on sperm movement characteristics.

Human spermatozoa previously washed from seminal plasma and incubated in capacitating medium were exposed to human follicular fluid (FF) for different time periods and their movement characteristics were examined by computer-assisted digital image analysis. No differences from control samples were observed after short exposures (15 minutes and 2 hours). When the exposure was prolonged to 6 hours, spermatozoa incubated in the presence of FF displayed significant differences in some movement characteristics as compared with samples incubated without FF supplement. When only rapidly moving sperm subpopulations were considered, these effects of FF were similar to those produced by a short incubation with the solubilized cumulus oophorus matrix as described previously. After 24 hours of incubation, there was a remarkable beneficial effect of FF on motility preservation. Possible physiological and clinical implications are discussed.