Fig. 6.

Loss of SEPT7 signal was associated with motility and morphological defects of spermatozoa. The Y-axis indicates the frequency of absent SEPT7 signal in spermatozoa (defined as the number of spermatozoa without SEPT7 signal/the total number of spermatozoa scored). The spermatozoa were divided into five subgroups according to morphological criteria: normal sperm (normal), sperm with head defects (head D), sperm with neck defects (neck D), sperm with tail defects (tail D), and immature sperm (immature). a, The percentage of sperm with loss of SEPT7 signal was increased in semen samples of asthenozoospermic men (asthenozoospermic) compared with men with normal semen parameters (fertile; P < 0.0001, unpaired t test). b, In fertile men, the percentage of sperm with an absence of SEPT7 signal was significantly higher in head-defective and immature sperm. In asthenozoospermic men (c) and in a combined analysis of the two groups (d), the percentage of sperm with an absence of SEPT7 signal was significantly higher in all groups with morphological defects. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; unpaired t test. Error bars indicate ± SD