Complete globozoospermia associated with PLCζ deficiency treated with calcium ionophore and ICSI results in pregnancy

Taylor, S.L.; Yoon, S.Y.; Morshedi, M.S.; Lacey, D.R.; Jellerette, T.; Fissore, R.A.; Oehninger, S.

doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2009.12.024

« Previous Next »Reproductive BioMedicine Online
Volume 20, Issue 4 , Pages 559-564, April 2010

Complete globozoospermia associated with PLCζ deficiency treated with calcium ionophore and ICSI results in pregnancy

S.L. Taylor
- The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
S.Y. Yoon
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
M.S. Morshedi
- The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
D.R. Lacey
- The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
T. Jellerette
- Wesson’s Women and Infants’ Unit, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA
R.A. Fissore
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
S. Oehninger
- The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
- Corresponding author.

Received 31 July 2009; received in revised form 19 August 2009; accepted 2 December 2009. published online 04 February 2010.

Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.

Abstract

Globozoospermia is an infrequent pathology in which spermatozoa lack acrosomes. Patients are considered sterile without IVF augmented with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as fertilization is impaired due to absence of oocyte activation. As far as is known, this is the first study to report results of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of the semen parameters, sperm DNA fragmentation, aneuploidy, transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting and immunofluorescence for detection of phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ), as well as ICSI outcome, of an affected patient. Morphological evaluation and transmission electron microscopy revealed complete globozoospermia with significant duplicate heads and tails. Analysis for DNA damage revealed fragmentation rates of approximately 80% in semen and 15–23% in swim-up fractions. PLCζ was not detected by immunofluorescence or Western blotting. Aneuploidy rates were within normal ranges. ICSI followed by oocyte activation with calcium ionophore resulted in high rates of fertilization, and an ongoing pregnancy was established after transfer of cryopreserved–thawed embryos.

Keywords: globozoospermia, ICSI, oocyte activation, phospholipase C zeta, pregnancy

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Steven Taylor has been associated with the Andrology Laboratory of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine for the past 10years. He earned his PhD in biomedical sciences from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in 2002. He has served as an ad hoc reviewer for several scientific publications and has either authored or co-authored eighteen manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Current interests include medical laboratory science and most aspects of reproductive sciences including male reproductive biology, sperm biology, sperm DNA fragmentation and its effects on subsequent embryo development and reproductive endocrinology.