Effect of rhodamine 123 and total glycosides from tripterygium wilfordii (GTW) on ultrastructures, survival and fertilizing capacity of human sperm in vitro.

Human sperms were treated with rhodamine 123 or GTW in vitro. Comparisons were made of survival, fertilizing capacity and ultrastructures of sperms which had been exposed to different concentrations and treatment durations of the agents. The results showed that no prominent change could be observed when treated with lower doses. However, at higher concentrations of rhodamine 123, mitochondria were found to be swollen, vacuolated and deranged instead of surrounding the flagellar axoneme in the normal spiral way, and the mitochondrial cristae were broken or had disappeared. In some sperms, cracks at the flagellar axoneme and concave defects in the acrosome were seen. The sperms lost their fertilizing capacity, though some of them were still alive, whereas the sperms treated with GTW showed no morphological damage and maintained their ability to penetrate the hamster egg. Our results suggest that rhodamine 123 is a prospect in the search for an anti-sperm contraceptive.