Potential disease diagnosis via sperm motility variations induced by body fluids in bioassay

Precise diagnosis of high-risk conditions such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases still remains a challenge. We previously developed a microfluidic chip for sperm selection and observed that sperm motility is highly sensitive to environmental changes. Building on this finding, we hypothesized that motility traits of sperm could be differentially modulated by body fluids from different individuals with different conditions (e.g. healthy versus diseased individuals), thereby serving as potential biomarkers for phenotype discrimination and even disease diagnosis. To test this hypothesis, we designed a diagnostic system in which mouse sperm were co-incubated with serum samples from patients with myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and pancreatitis, along with matched healthy controls. Key kinematic parameters—including motility rate (MR), curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight-line velocity (VSL), linearity (LIN), and amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH)—were analyzed using a multiparameter sperm quality analysis system. The results revealed that disease-specific serum induced distinct and reproducible changes in sperm motility patterns, enabling accurate discrimination between healthy and pathological conditions. Evaluation of these motility parameters demonstrated high diagnostic performance, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.848 to 0.888. This sperm-based bioassay offers a non-invasive, rapid, and cost-effective platform for potential disease detection and possible personalized health assessment, with preliminary evidence suggesting its potential to complement existing diagnostic approaches. Many serious health conditions still lack fast, easy early screening methods. In our previous work, we observed that sperm motility changes markedly upon exposure to different body fluids. In this study, we placed mouse sperm together with serum samples from different groups of people and recorded the resulting alterations in sperm movement patterns. Results show that sera from individuals with different diseases causes distinct and reproducible changes in sperm motility, which enable accurate discrimination between healthy subjects and patients. This non-invasive, low-cost, and fast assay holds promise as a practical supplementary tool for existing disease screening strategies in the future.