Nifedipine modifies plasma membrane functional integrity and inhibits osmosensitive calcium influx in human sperm

Objective:To investigate the effect of nifedipine of therapeutic dosage on the plasma membrane functional integrity and osmosensitive calcium influx in human sperm in vitro.Methods:Sperm samples were aseptically obtained from 10 healthy fertile men by masturbation and prepared by swim-up technique to produce a spermatozoal solution of high motility.The solution was then incubated with nifedipine of 20,100 and 20×103ng/ml respectively at 37 ℃ in vitro.The hypo-osmotic swelling(HOS)test was done to assess the sperm function.Intracellular calcium concentration was measured by fluorescent probe fura-2/AM before and after sperm medium dilution in distilled water.Results:The 20×103ng/ml group showed significantly lower HOS scores than the control(P0.01).The 20,100 and 20×103ng/ml groups all showed significantly lower Ca2+ fluorescence D-value than the control(P0.01).Conclusion:Nifedipine can modify plasma membrane functional integrity and inhibit osmosensitive calcium influx in human sperm and affect male fertility in vitro in therapeutic dose.