Human Follicular Fluid Stimulates Hyperactivated Motility in Human Sperm

Since human follicular fluid (FF) is known to enhance the acrosome reaction and capacitation, we investigated whether hyperactivated motility is stimulated by FF. Follicular fluid-treated sperm exhibited a threefold increase in hyperactivation compared with the controls. The use of fetal cord serum in the medium, instead of bovine serum albumin, supported the same high levels of hyperactivation, although the peak occurred at 3 hours rather than 5 hours of capacitation. When sperm were treated with a steroid-rich fraction of the FF, hyperactivation was stimulated to the same degree as with whole FF. In contrast, no stimulation occurred when sperm were treated with a FF fraction stripped of steroids. The FF enhancement of hyperactivation in vitro could augment the fertilizing capacity of subfertile sperm samples, providing also a glimpse of possible in vivo events as sperm traverse the FF-laden cumulus oophorus.