Use of microfluidics to sort stallion sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Does choosing microfluidics for sperm sorting offer an advantage to improve clinical pregnancies in donor egg recipients?

“…Studies reveal that in sperm samples with disrupted membrane integrity measured using the HOS test, the use of MF did not result in any improvement of membrane integrity. [ 18 ] However, it needs validation in a larger cohort to conclude. In the present study, we anticipated high rate of successful term pregnancies over conventional methods; nevertheless, we observed a significant miscarriage rate in the group of patients under MF sperm sorting.…”

Effects of In Vitro Interactions of Oviduct Epithelial Cells with Frozen–Thawed Stallion Spermatozoa on Their Motility, Viability and Capacitation Status

“…ICSI is a low-embryo-yield technique within the equine breeding industry that can achieve similar embryo development using frozen or fresh equine spermatozoa [17,75]. Different methods are employed to select stallion sperm prior to ICSI (swim-up procedure, density gradient centrifugation or microfluidics) in order to increase the probability of selecting sperm that when used will result in optimal fertility [76][77][78]. Within this context, the probability that sperm-injected oocytes develop into an embryo (morula or blastocyst) improves when frozen-thawed stallion sperm show high membrane integrity [79].…”

An Update on Semen Physiology, Technologies, and Selection Techniques for the Advancement of In Vitro Equine Embryo Production: Section II

“…Another technique for high quality sperm selection is the microfluidic (MF) sorting method, which can select highly motile sperm based upon rheo-, chemo-, and thermotactic behaviors of viable spermatozoa, while also removing extraneous cellular debris, in an attempt to mimic aspects of in vivo sperm selection [ 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ]. Various MF devices exist, including those that rely on the ability of the highly motile subpopulation to swim through a porous membrane [ 126 , 127 , 128 ] or combinations of channels and collection chambers to be selected [ 125 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 ]. MF sorting with human and bovine sperm has shown to select for sperm with overall enriched motility, viability, and DNA integrity, as well as reduced ROS generation, when compared to centrifugation methods [ 126 , 127 , 132 ].…”

“…In a recent study with horse sperm, microfluidic devices containing a porous membrane that allows only motile spermatozoa to swim through resulted in a selected population enriched for sperm with normal morphology, and improved motility, viability, and DNA integrity parameters [ 128 ]. This study also showed that MF yielded similar results to DGC and was superior to results from SU, but no clinical outcomes were investigated [ 128 ]. Yet, despite the widely reported benefits of MF sorting, it has also been demonstrated that some microfluidics may impose stress upon boar, but not bull, spermatozoa and negatively impact viability [ 135 ].…”