The Open Access Journal of Science and Technology AgiAl Publishing House Vol. 2 (2014), Article ID 101045, 7 pages http://www.agialpress.com/ doi:10.11131/2014/101045 Research Article Physicochemical Factors: Impact on Spermagglutination Induced by Escherichia coli Kiranjeet Kaur and Vijay Prabha ∗ Department of Microbiology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India ∗ Corresponding Author: Vijay Prabha; email: satishvijay11@yahoo.com Received 19 November 2013; Accepted 20 December 2013 Academic Editor: Stefanos Kachrilas Copyright © 2014 Kiranjeet Kaur and Vijay Prabha. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract. Motility is a sensitive parameter of sperm function which is predictive of its fertilization potential in vitro. The decrease in sperm motility may be associated with sperm agglutination and immobilization due to mere presence of bacteria or excretion of bacterial toxic products. Supplementation with various agents like sucrose, mannitol, calcium, and EDTA is well known to improve the sperm motility in vitro. The present study was designed to check any protective role exerted by the addition of different agents on spermatozoal motility against E. coli induced sperm agglutination. 52 semen specimens were screened for the presence of sperm-agglutinating strain of E. coli. Further, influence of various factors, namely, sugars, salts, and chelating agents was studied. Also, the impact of exposure to high temperature and alcohol on sperm-agglutinating eciency of E. coli was observed. None of the factors could inhibit the sperm agglutination induced by E. coli, except high temperature suggesting the involvement of protein moiety. In addition, it was observed that agglutinating eciency of E. coli was limited to spermatozoa and RBCs. It may be concluded that sperm-agglutinating property of E. coli is quite stable as various physicochemical factors tested did not show any negative effect on the same except high temperature. Keywords: Escherichia Coli, Sperm Immotility, Agglutination, Semen Sample, Sugars, Salts 1. Introduction Sperm is a highly specialized cell that must express diverse arrays of properties including motility, acrosome reaction, zona recognition, and fusion with oocyte [1]. Among all, sperm motility and viability are most essential for successful fertilization. Motility is an expression of the viability and structural integrity of the cell as the fertile life of a spermatozoon can be measured by the duration of its motility [2]. Hence, spermatozoa dysfunction is the single most important cause of infertility. The negative impact of some microorganisms relevant to genital infections on sperm function has been claimed [3]. Some possible pathomechanisms of the development of infertility linked with infection are considered: direct effect on sperm function (motility, morphology, etc.), deterioration of spermatogen- esis, autoimmune processes induced by inflammation, and dysfunction of accessory sex glands [4]. Recent studies have shown that the simple presence of bacteria in semen samples may compromise the semen quality [5]. The above-said facts were further justified by an observation made by a group of scientists wherein improvement of semen quality following eradication of infection was seen [6]. Various microorganisms isolated from semen sample include Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Micrococci,