Sperm agglutinating activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans as a causative factor of infertility in mice (Mus musculus)

Abstract

Vaginal yeast infections in women are usually caused by Candida albicans and, to a lesser extent, by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Studies on C. albicans have shown that it can cause sperm agglutination which can lead to lowered fertility. In this context, a similar experiment was conducted to compare the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans on the fertility of ICR mouse (Mus musculus) through sperm agglutination. Specifically, the study compared the effect of S. cerevisiae and C. albicans on the sperm quality of mice and in the fertility outcome of female mice. Sperm agglutinating activity was examined by mixing different concentrations of S. cerevisiae and C. albicans (104, 106 and 108 CFU/mL) with semen from male mice of ICR strain. Determination of the effect of S. cerevisiae and C. albicans on the fertility outcome of female mice was done by intravaginal inoculation of 104, 106 and 108 CFU/ 20 µL of the two yeast organisms. Mating of inoculated female mice was done after verification of establishment of yeasts in the vaginal canal. The number of female mice with successful births was recorded. In the sperm analysis, it was observed that S. cerevisiae can cause sperm agglutination and the percentage of agglutinated sperm was not significantly different from the values of C. albicans at a=0.05. The same is also true with regards to the number of sperm per agglutinate. The concentration of S. cerevisiae and C. albicans that exhibited the highest percentage of agglutinated sperm is 106 CFU/mL. In S. cerevisiae, the most frequent type of agglutination observed is the mixed type, while in C. albicans, it is the head-to-head type. Both yeasts were able to cause a decline in the number of births in mice. It is concluded that S. cerevisiae can induce sperm agglutination and cause infertility comparable to C. albicans.