| Abstract: | Human spermatozoa were treated with the detergents Hyamine 2389, Triton X-100, or sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and surface replica preparations and Papanicolaou-stained smears made. From the ultrastructural studies it was found that Hyamine caused a dissolution of the plasmalemma to reveal the outer acrosomal membrane that was often absent over the anterior cap region; whereas Triton, in addition, caused severe damage to the entire acrosome. Treatment with SDS rapidly cleaved the tails from the majority of the spermatozoa, stripped the plasmalemma from both the head and tail regions of the cells, and also removed the whole of the outer acrosomal membrane plus most of the acrosomal contents. However, when viewed in the Papanicolaou-stained preparations, the spermatozoa were all of apparently normal morphology. These studies make it clear that some caution must be used when interpreting human sperm morphology assessments made under the light microscope. While it is not suggested that the more involved technique of surface replication should be used in routine semen analyses, it does represent a valuable technique for use with research material. |
