PROGESTERONE INDUCES HUMAN SPERM CHEMOTAXIS

Objective: To characterize the molecular nature of the chemotactic signal for sperm contained in human follicular fluid (FF). Design: Follicular fluid was fractionated and several procedures were followed to the physicochemical initial characterization of sperm chemotactic compound(s). Main Outcome Measure: Relative chemotactic activity of each fraction was measured in a double chamber device. Results: Sperm chemotaxis was found to be associated with a lipid-like molecule extracted from FF. Several steroids were assayed individually and only P showed sperm chemotactic properties in dose-response curves. Conclusions: In this paper we present experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that P, the main steroid component of FF, is a mediator of sperm chemoattraction in human beings.