Urinary excretion of placental male sex-linked protein during pregnancy.

The placental male protein in the maternal urine was examined by means of the column chromatographic method, the same method used in determination of the male protein in human placenta. The urinary examination was made in ten near-term pregnant women, five with male and five with female fetuses. It was found that the male protein was present in the urine of every pregnant woman with a male fetus and was absent in those with a female fetus. The result of this study suggests that the male protein in the placenta is released into the maternal circulation and excreted into the urine during pregnancy. The presence of the male protein in the pregnant women's urine may be used as a criteria in determining the presence of a male fetus.

Male sex-linked protein in human placental villi.

Due to the difference in genetic components between X and Y chromosomes, we believe that tissues of male and female individuals should contain different sex-linked protein. This study is aimed to determine whether there is any sex-linked protein in the placenta belonging to human male and female fetuses. Placentas from eleven male and eleven female fetuses were studied. Proteins from the placenta were extracted and fractionated by means of column chromatography. The protein fractions obtained from the male and female placental extracts were compared. It was found that there was a protein fraction present in the placenta of male fetuses but absent in those of the females. This protein fraction is called "male sex-linked protein" or "male protein". It is believed that this male protein is genetically determined and should also be found in every organ, not just only in the placenta.

Sperm motility after passage through the hen's egg yolk medium.

This study aimed to observe the percentage of motility of human spermatozoa after passage through 20 per cent hen's egg yolk medium. Twenty-one samples of freshly ejaculated human semen having a sperm density over 20 million per ml and a percentage of motile sperm over 50 per cent were used in the study. The percentage of sperm motility was estimated under the microscope by conventional method. The sperm motility was evaluated within 30 minutes after ejaculation and every one hour thereafter for 8 hours. After the first observation, the semen was divided into two parts, one part kept as a control and the other used for the experiment. The latter was washed in Tyrode's solution and overlaid on 20 per cent egg yolk column and allowed to migrate toward the bottom of the column for two and a half hours. The spermatozoa at the bottom of the column were brought out and washed in Tyrode's solution. The percentage of the sperm motility was observed every hour for 5 hours. After passing through the 20 per cent egg yolk medium, percentage of sperm motility was observed to increase from 66.2 to 87.2 while that of the control declined to 49.3. Five hours after passing through the egg yolk medium the percentage of motile sperm was still high, an average of 80 as compared to 17.4 for the control. Results of this study indicate that hen's egg yolk has a sperm motility stimulating property. Whether hen's egg yolk can be used as a sperm motility stimulant in the treatment of such conditions as asthenospermia and oligospermia is subjected for further study.

Sperm morphology after hen's egg yolk filtration.

Tyrode's washed spermatozoa were placed on top of 20 per cent hen's egg yolk column of 2 cm diameter and 10 cm in height. The spermatozoa were allowed to move downward for two and a half hours and those at the bottom of the column were removed for morphological examination under a light microscope after staining with hematoxylineosin. The study was made in 45 cases. It was found that the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm decreased, after passing through the hen's egg yolk column, from the average of 9.98 to 0.71 per cent. It is suggested tha the hen's egg yolk method is suitable for improving sperm motility and morphology in certain infertile cases where husbands have a seminal defect.