The effects of follicular fluid from patients with different indications for IVF treatment on the binding of human spermatozoa to the zona pellucida

This study compared the effects of human follicular fluid (hFF) from womenwith endometriosis, tubal factor and male factor on the zona bindingcapacity of human spermatozoa. Samples of hFF were collected from 30patients, 10 patients for each of the indications of infertility, at thetime of oocyte retrieval in an in-vitro fertilization/embryo transferprogramme. The hemizona binding assay (HZA) was used to assess the effectof these hFF on the zona binding potential of human spermatozoa. The meannumbers of spermatozoa bound to the zona pellucida after treating thespermatozoa with hFF from endometriosis, tubal factor and male factor were90.5 +/- 20.9, 108.9 +/- 22.3 and 101.2 +/- 13.4 respectively. These weresignificantly lower than their corresponding controls, the spermatozoa ofwhich were incubated with Earle's balanced salt solution (endometriosis238.7 +/- 34.7; tubal factor 210.8 +/- 41.6; male factor 205.4 +/- 26.3; P<0.002). The hemizona binding index (HZI) was similar between malefactor samples (52.0 +/- 6.7) and tubal factor samples (53.8 +/- 4.2).Spermatozoa incubated with hFF from endometriosis patients (36.0 +/- 4.1)had an HZI that was significantly lower than those treated with hFF fromtubal factor patients (P <0.01). Probably due to small sample size, thedifferences in HZI between endometriosis samples and male factor samplesdid not reach statistical significance (P = 0.076). These data suggest thatthere was a stronger sperm-zona binding inhibitory effect of hFF frompatients with endometriosis than from those without the disease.