Motility of Seminal Plasma-Free Spermatozoa in the Presence of Several Physiological Compounds

The purpose of this pilot study was to get information whether the motility and velocity of washed human spermatozoa can be affected by different compounds usually found in seminal plasma. The following purified substances wee added to washed spermatozoa in physiological concentrations: bradykinin, angiotensin I, II, III, spermine, spermidine, acetylcarnitine, LH and FSH. Sperm motility and velocity were measured by the method of multiple exposure photography after 30 minutes of incubation at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C including appropriate controls. Bradykinin improved sperm velocity at 22 degrees C. Angiotensin I and II, acetylcarnitine and LH stimulated sperm velocity at 37 degrees C. The latter two substances increased also sperm motility at 37 degrees C. Angiotensin III, spermine, spermidine and FSH showed no effect on sperm motility neither at 22 degrees C nor at 37 degrees C. These observations indicate that distinct physiological compounds found in seminal plasma stimulate directly sperm motility and/or velocity in vitro and support the assumption that the sperm motility stimulating principle of human semen is complex and of multifactorial origin.