{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T14:39:20Z","timestamp":1792075160375,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Phospholipase C zeta (PLC\u03b6) is a sperm-specific protein that triggers oocyte activation. The analysis of PLC\u03b6 expression in human spermatozoa can be used as a diagnostic marker for oocyte activation deficiency. Our laboratory has previously optimized a standard \u201cin-house\u201d assay to determine PLC\u03b6 expression in human spermatozoa. However, one study has suggested that an antigen unmasking method (AUM) would be more efficient in visualizing PLC\u03b6 in human sperm. This study aimed to compare our established assay and AUM (involving HCl, acidic Tyrode's solution [AT], and heat). The mean relative fluorescence (RF) intensity of PLC\u03b6 in frozen-thawed spermatozoa from fourteen fertile donors stained with the in-house method was significantly higher than three other AUM groups (in-house [mean \u00b1 standard error of mean]: 18.87 \u00b1 2.39 arbitrary units [a.u.]\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">vs<\/jats:italic>\n                    non-AUM: 11.44 \u00b1 1.61 a.u., AT-AUM: 12.38 \u00b1 1.89 a.u., and HCl-AUM: 12.51 \u00b1 2.16 a.u.,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; 0.05, one-way analysis of variance). The mean RF intensity of PLC\u03b6 in AT- and HCl-treated spermatozoa from 12 infertile males was not significantly different from that of the non-AUM group. However, the in-house method resulted in the highest RF intensity (12.11 \u00b1 1.36 a.u.,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, specificity testing of antibody-antigen binding indicated that the in-house method showed more specific binding than spermatozoa treated by the AUM. In conclusion, our in-house method showed superior visualization and reliability than the AUM, thus supporting the continued use of our in-house assay for clinical research screening.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4103\/aja202168","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,3]],"date-time":"2021-12-03T06:54:35Z","timestamp":1638514475000},"page":"345-352","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Antigen unmasking does not improve the visualization of phospholipase C zeta in human spermatozoa"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Xin","family":"Meng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Celine","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Melo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Women's Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Ross","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Oxford Fertility, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford OX4 2HW, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ginny","family":"Mounce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tim","family":"Child","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"},{"name":"Oxford Fertility, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford OX4 2HW, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kevin","family":"Coward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"-20240829","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"977","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/dez293","article-title":"A novel homozygous mutation of phospholipase C zeta leading to defective human oocyte activation and fertilization failure","volume":"35","author":"Yuan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Hum Reprod"},{"key":"-20240829","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1093\/humupd\/dmv040","article-title":"Oocyte activation deficiency: a role for an oocyte contribution?","volume":"22","author":"Yeste","year":"2016","journal-title":"Hum Reprod 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