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Quantitative analysis of sperm rheotaxis using a microfluidic device

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Abstract

Quite puzzling issue in biology is how sperm cells are selected naturally where human sperm has to maintain a correct swimming behavior during the various stages of reproduction process. In nature, sperm has to compete a long journey from cervix to oocyte to stand a chance for fertilization. Although various guidance mechanisms such as chemical and thermal gradients are proposed previously, these mechanisms may only be relevant as sperm reaches very close to the oocyte. Rheotaxis, a phenomenon where sperm cells swim against the flow direction, is possibly the long-range sperm guidance mechanism for successful fertilization. A little is known quantitatively about how flow shear effects may help guide human sperm cells over long distances. Here, we have developed microfluidic devices to quantitatively investigate sperm rheotaxis at various physiological flow conditions. We observed that at certain flow rates sperm actively orient and swim against the flow. Sperm that exhibit positive rheotaxis show better motility and velocity than the control (no-flow condition), however, rheotaxis does not select sperm based on hyaluronic acid (HA) binding potential and morphology. Morphology and HA binding potential may not be a significant factor in sperm transport in natural sperm selection.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge research support from Fertility and Genetics Plantation, FL, Cryos International USA, Institute for Sensing and Embedded Networking Systems Engineering (I-SENSE) Research Initiative Award, FAU Faculty Mentoring Award, Humanity in Science Award, and a start-up research support from College of Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

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  1. Asghar-Lab, Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Kari Rappa, Jacob Samargia, Mazhar Sher, Javier S. Pino & Waseem Asghar

  2. Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Kari Rappa, Mazhar Sher, Javier S. Pino & Waseem Asghar

  3. IVF Consultants, Inc., Miramar, FL, USA

    Harold F. Rodriguez

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Waseem Asghar

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  1. Kari Rappa
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Correspondence to Waseem Asghar.

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Rappa, K., Samargia, J., Sher, M. et al. Quantitative analysis of sperm rheotaxis using a microfluidic device. Microfluid Nanofluid 22, 100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-018-2117-6

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