Table 2. Lipid and phospholipid molecular species content (mean ± SD) in spermatozoa before and after migration through cervical mucus with rare or absent leukocytes (PMN-free) or with noticeable amounts of leukocytes (PMN+).
| Lipid and phospholipid species (nmoL per 108 sperms) | PMN-free (n = 7) |
PMN+ (n = 4) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before migration | After migration | Before migration | After migration | |
| D*16:0/22:6 | 33.3 ± 5.8 | 19.3 ± 7.0a | 33.9 ± 4.2 | 29.2 ± 4.3b |
| D16:0/20:4 | 5.6 ± 0.2 | 2.3 ± 1.5a | 5.2 ± 0.3 | 4.0 ± 0.5 |
| D16:0/18:2 | 11.5 ± 1.8 | 2.8 ± 2.3a | 11.0 ± 3.2 | 6.2 ± 2.2b |
| D18:0/22:6 | 8.9 ± 1.9 | 3.0 ± 1.5a | 9.5 ± 2.2 | 7.0 ± 1.6b |
| D18:0/20:4 | 5.0 ± 0.9 | 1.1 ± 1.3a | 4.5 ± 0.8 | 3.8 ± 0.4b |
| Total diacyls | 68.0 ± 13.1 | 28.8 ± 10.1a | 65.6 ± 8.3 | 51.9 ± 9.2b |
| Plasmalogen | 20.9 ± 10.8 | 7.2 ± 2.4a | 16.4 ± 3.4 | 12.6 ± 1.8b |
| Sphingomyelin | 37.9 ± 7.0 | 16.1 ± 7.2a | 41.0 ± 17.0 | 23.9 ± 3.9 |
| Cholesterol | 94.3 ± 6.7 | 51.6 ± 13.4a | 90.6 ± 25.3 | 50.2 ± 6.4 |
Abbreviation: PMN, polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
a
P < 0.05 in the comparison of the washed pooled spermatozoa and the washed spermatozoa after migration into the mucus sample;
b
P < 0.05 in the comparison of the washed spermatozoa that migrated into PMN+ and those that migrated into PMN-free mucus samples.
D*: diacyls (D16:0/22:6 (1-palmitoyl-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospholipid); D16:0/20:4 (1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospholipid); D18:0/22:6 (1-stearoyl-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospholipid).