Interleukin 3 (IL-3) promotes the survival and proliferation of hematopoietic cells of various lineages in culture. Like most other hematopoietic colony stimulating factors, its mode of action is unknown. However, binding of the lymphokine induces protein tyrosine phosphorylation and enhanced glucose transport in some myeloid progenitor cells. We have studied the hexose uptake following IL-3 stimulation in IL-3-dependent pro-B cells. IL-3 facilitated the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose within 15 min. Kinetic analysis of the 2-deoxyglucose uptake attributed the enhanced transport to improved transporter function, while other hormones or cytokines affect glucose transport primarily via the number of cell surface transporters.

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Background Physiological selection of spermatozoa for ICSI (PICSI) is a sperm selection method based on sperm binding to hyaluronic acid. Previous studies on the effect of hyaluronic acid binding assays on fertilization and embryo quality have shown inconsistent results. Previous sibling oocyte studies have not found a significant improvement in fertilization or embryo development with hyaluronic acid binding assays. Objective To compare fertilization and embryo development between standard intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and PICSI in sibling oocytes. Materials and Methods This is a retrospective analysis of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles between January 2017 and April 2020 in which sibling oocytes were randomly fertilized by both ICSI and PICSI. Fertilization rate and the rate of embryos eligible for transfer were compared. Results Forty‐five IVF cycles, in which 257 oocytes were fertilized with PICSI and 294 with standard ICSI, were compared. Most of the patients included in the study had previous failures of fertilization, poor embryonic development, implantation failure, or miscarriage. All but two of the patients had at least one previous unsuccessful IVF cycle. Both fertilization rates (71% vs. 83%) and transfer eligible embryo rates (38% vs. 51%) were significantly higher in PICSI fertilized oocytes (p = 0.008 and p = 0.01 respectively). Discussion Our study is the largest sibling oocyte study comparing ICSI and PICSI, and the first to find a significant improvement in fertilization and embryo quality with PICSI using sibling oocytes. The fact our cohort included almost exclusively couples with previous unsuccessful IVF cycles might suggest that PICSI should be used in selected cases. Conclusion PICSI improves fertilization rates and transfer eligible embryo rates in sibling oocytes in a selected study group.

Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and testicular sperm detection by fine needle aspiration (TEFNA) are both acceptable methods for sperm retrieval for non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) men. The aim of the study was to determine the predictability of TEFNA to sperm detection by either TEFNA or TESE of the second testicle and to compare fertilization rate (FR) of testicular spermatozoa retrieved by each method. Sixty one men diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) participated in this prospective study. All patients had a sperm recovery trial by TEFNA on a single randomly selected testicle (10-20 punctures with 23-gauge butterfly needle) and either TEFNA or TESE on the contralateral testicle at the same surgical session. The procedure was considered successful if at least 1 spermatozoon per 5µL was retrieved for use in the coming cycle of IVF-ICSI. We found that TEFNA could successfully predict all successful TESE cases (100% PPV and 88% NPV), whereas unsuccessful TEFNA was followed by successful TESE in 12.5% of cases. The mean number of spermatozoa collected by TEFNA vs. TESE was 1749±3175 (range 0-10,000) vs. 14129 +18005 (range 24-40800), respectively (p=0.033). TEFNA could successfully predict all successful TEFNA of the second testis (100% PPV and 95% NPV). The FR of MII oocytes was similar for sperm retrieved by either TEFNA or TESE. We conclude that in NOA patients successful TEFNA is fully predictive of both successful TESE and TEFNA on the contralateral testis. However, unsuccessful TEFNA may not predict the outcome of TESE in 12.5% of cases, most probably due to the numerical superiority of TESE. Spermatozoa collected by both methods share similar fertilization potential.