Patent ID: 7160676

Claim:
A method of determining the responsiveness of sperm in a test sample to one or more stimuli associated with capacitation and/or acrosomal exocytosis, comprising the steps of: a) determining a G M1 distribution pattern for sperm in the test sample, comprising: (i) exposing the test sperm to the one or more stimuli; (ii) fixing the test sperm in a fixative comprising paraformaldehyde, glutaraldehyde or combinations thereof; (iii) staining the fixed test sperm to determine the G M1 distribution pattern in the fixed test sperm; b) obtaining a G M1 distribution pattern of a normal sperm sample which has been exposed to the same one or more stimuli and fixed with the same fixative as the test sperm; c) comparing the G M1 distribution patterns of the fixed test sperm and the fixed normal sperm, wherein a difference between the G MI distribution patterns of the fixed test sperm and the fixed normal sperm is indicative of an abnormal capacitation and/or acrosomal exocytosis response of the test sperm to the one or more stimuli.