HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zaccagnini, G. Articles by Spadafora, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zaccagnini, G. Articles by Spadafora, C. Agricola Articles by Zaccagnini, G. Articles by Spadafora, C.

Increased Production of Mouse Embryos in In Vitro Fertilization by Preincubating Sperm Cells with the Nuclease Inhibitor Aurintricarboxylic Acid¹

^a Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche, CNR, 00161 Rome, Italy ^b Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy

Exposure of spermatozoa to stress conditions causes a drastic reduction of their fertilizing ability. We report here that the decrease in fertilization can be effectively antagonized by preincubating sperm cells with the nuclease inhibitor drug aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA). Preincubation of mouse epididymal sperm cells with ATA increased the yield of 2-cell embryos produced by in vitro fertilization assays. The effect of ATA was selectively exerted via spermatozoa, since neither preincubation of eggs, nor the direct treatment of zygotes, modified the yield of 2-cell-stage embryos. Our results suggest that ATA does not directly improve the ability of sperm cells to penetrate the egg cytoplasm but instead acts by preserving sperm nuclei from induced or spontaneously occurring damage and/or favors events that trigger early embryogenesis.

¹ This work was supported by the CNR National Research Council and by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture in the framework of the RAIZ 1997–98 project "Improvement of Farm Animal Reproduction."

² Correspondence: Corrado Spadafora, Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via G.B. Morgagni 30/E, 00161 Rome, Italy. FAX: 39 6 49387120; cspadaf{at}tin.it

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Bhowmick, L. Zhu, L. McGinnis, J. Lawitts, B. D. Nath, M. Toner, and J. Biggers Desiccation Tolerance of Spermatozoa Dried at Ambient Temperature: Production of Fetal Mice Biol Reprod, May 1, 2003; 68(5): 1779 - 1786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Giordano, A. R. Magnano, G. Zaccagnini, C. Pittoggi, N. Moscufo, R. Lorenzini, and C. Spadafora Reverse Transcriptase Activity in Mature Spermatozoa of Mouse J. Cell Biol., March 20, 2000; 148(6): 1107 - 1114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]