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Ramón-López AE, Fernández-Collahuazo JP, Samaniego JX, Duma JM, Méndez MS, Soria ME, Galarza-Álvarez L, Muñoz-León E, Galarza DA. L-carnitine supplementation in conventional slow and ultra-rapid freezing media improves motility, membrane integrity, and fertilizing ability of dog epididymal sperm. Anim Reprod Sci 2024; 270:107580. [PMID: 39216207 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2024.107580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2024] [Revised: 08/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the impact of L-carnitine (LC) supplementation in conventional-slow (CS) and ultra-rapid (UR) freezing media on post-thaw quality and fertilizing ability of dog epididymal spermatozoa. Sperm samples were collected from 60 epididymides obtained from 30 adult orchiectomized dogs via retrograde flushing. Twenty pooled sperm samples were then created (3 epididymal samples/pool). Four treatments were established according to the freezing method (CS and UR) and LC supplementation (5 and 0 mM [control, Co]): CS-LC5, CS-Co, UR-LC5, and UR-Co. The CS freezing involved exposing 0.25 mL straw to liquid nitrogen vapors (LN2), while UR freezing submerged 30-µL drops of sperm samples directly into LN2. Sperm kinematics, membrane integrity, and fertilizing ability (by heterologous in vitro fertilization using bovine oocytes) were evaluated for all treatments. Post-thaw results revealed that the CS freezing treatments resulted in significantly higher values (P < 0.05) of curvilinear and average-path velocities, and beat-cross frequency compared to the UR freezing treatments, regardless of LC supplementation. The CS-LC5 and UR-LC5 treatments cryoprotected the sperm by increasing (P < 0.05) the percentage of 'live-sperm/intact-acrosome' compared to their controls treatments CS-Co and UR-Co. Regarding fertilizing ability, the CS-LC5 treatment yielded a higher percentage (P < 0.05) of pronuclei formation compared to both UR treatments. The UR-LC5 treatment, however, obtained greater percentage (P < 0.05) than their control UR-Co. In conclusion, supplementation with L-carnitine in conventional-slow and ultra-rapid freezing improved sperm motility, plasma, and acrosome membranes integrity and fertilizing ability of dog epididymal spermatozoa.
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Affiliation(s)
- A E Ramón-López
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - J P Fernández-Collahuazo
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - J X Samaniego
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - J M Duma
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - M S Méndez
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador
| | - M E Soria
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - L Galarza-Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador.
| | - E Muñoz-León
- Centro Latinoamericano de formación en especies mayores y menores - CLAFEM, Cuenca, Ecuador.
| | - D A Galarza
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca EC010205, Ecuador; Centro Latinoamericano de formación en especies mayores y menores - CLAFEM, Cuenca, Ecuador.
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Cañón-Beltrán K, Cajas YN, González E, Fernández-González R, Fierro N, Lorenzo PL, Arias-Álvarez M, García-García RM, Gutiérrez-Adán A, Rizos D. Acquisition of fertilization competence in guinea pig spermatozoa under different capacitation protocols. Theriogenology 2023; 198:231-240. [PMID: 36621132 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2022.12.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Guinea pig in vitro fertilization (IVF) are poorly developed due to the limited accessibility to oocytes and the lack of an efficient method of sperm capacitation. Thus, we aimed to evaluate different capacitation protocols that we validated through sperm analysis and using heterologous (He) IVF with zona-intact bovine oocytes. Spermatozoa of guinea pigs were collected and processed separately by 4 different protocols: A) Spermatozoa were obtained by flushing the lumen of one cauda epididymis and incubated in a minimal culture medium (MCM); B) One epididymis was placed in a prewarmed of M2 medium and gently minced with fine scissors. Spermatozoa were incubated in a modified human tubal fluid medium (HTF). In both protocols, the spermatozoa were capacitated at 37 °C under an atmosphere of 5% CO2 for 2 h. In the protocols C and D, the spermatozoa were collected by flushing the lumen of the cauda epididymis and selected by commercial density gradient Bovipure® (Nidacon Laboratories AB, Göthenborg, Sweden), according to the manufacturer's instructions. Then for Protocol C) spermatozoa were incubated in MCM medium supplemented with 10 mg/mL heparin (MCM-Hep); while for Protocol D) spermatozoa were incubated in FERT medium supplemented 10 mg/mL heparin (FERT-Hep). Incubation of C and D protocols were performed at 38.5 °C under an atmosphere of 5% CO2 for 2 h. Capacitation protocols C and D showed a higher percentage of viability, total and hyperactive-like motility, and acrosome reaction compared to protocols A and B. For this reason, protocols C and D were used for further He-IVF analysis. Guinea pig sperm and matured zona-intact bovine oocytes were co-incubated at 5% CO2 and 38.5 °C. Sperm-oocyte interaction was assessed at 2.5 h post-insemination (hpi) and pronuclear formation (PrF) were evaluated at 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26 hpi, while the cleavage rate was evaluated at 48 hpi. In protocol D, PrF was significantly higher than in protocol C (P ≤ 0.05) at every time point evaluated. Also, the cleavage rate at 48 hpi was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in He-IVF protocol D (69.8 ± 1.7%) compared to He-IVF protocol C (49.1 ± 1.1%). In conclusion, we determined the most adequate sperm capacitation conditions for guinea pig that allow zona-intact bovine oocyte penetration and lead to hybrid embryo formation, suggesting that these conditions could be optimal to develop IVF in guinea pigs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina Cañón-Beltrán
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain; Programa de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Grupo Kyron, Corporación Universitaria del Huila (CORHUILA), Huila, Colombia.
| | - Yulia N Cajas
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain; Laboratorio de Biotecnología de la Reproducción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Encina González
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raúl Fernández-González
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Natacha Fierro
- Escuela de Ingeniería Agropecuaria, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Pedro L Lorenzo
- Department of Physiology, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Arias-Álvarez
- Department of Animal Production, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rosa M García-García
- Department of Physiology, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alfonso Gutiérrez-Adán
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Dimitrios Rizos
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Fuentes-Albero MC, González-Brusi L, Cots P, Luongo C, Abril-Sánchez S, Ros-Santaella JL, Pintus E, Ruiz-Díaz S, Barros-García C, Sánchez-Calabuig MJ, García-Párraga D, Avilés M, Izquierdo Rico MJ, García-Vázquez FA. Protein Identification of Spermatozoa and Seminal Plasma in Bottlenose Dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus). Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:673961. [PMID: 34336830 PMCID: PMC8323341 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.673961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteins play an important role in many reproductive functions such as sperm maturation, sperm transit in the female genital tract or sperm-oocyte interaction. However, in general, little information concerning reproductive features is available in the case of aquatic animals. The present study aims to characterize the proteome of both spermatozoa and seminal plasma of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) as a model organism for cetaceans. Ejaculate samples were obtained from two trained dolphins housed in an aquarium. Spermatozoa and seminal plasma were analyzed by means of proteomic analyses using an LC-MS/MS, and a list with the gene symbols corresponding to each protein was submitted to the DAVID database. Of the 419 proteins identified in spermatozoa and 303 in seminal plasma, 111 proteins were shared by both. Furthermore, 70 proteins were identified as involved in reproductive processes, 39 in spermatozoa, and 31 in seminal plasma. The five most abundant proteins were also identified in these samples: AKAP3, ODF2, TUBB, GSTM3, ROPN1 for spermatozoa and CST11, LTF, ALB, HSP90B1, PIGR for seminal plasma. In conclusion, this study provides the first characterization of the proteome in cetacean sperm and seminal plasma, opening the way to future research into new biomarkers, the analysis of conservation capacity or possible additional applications in the field of assisted reproductive technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mari-Carmen Fuentes-Albero
- Department of Biology, Avanqua-Oceanogràfic S.L, Valencia, Spain.,Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Leopoldo González-Brusi
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Paula Cots
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Chiara Luongo
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Silvia Abril-Sánchez
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - José Luis Ros-Santaella
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Eliana Pintus
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Sara Ruiz-Díaz
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Agricultural and Food Research and Technology Institute (INIA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - María-Jesús Sánchez-Calabuig
- Department of Animal Reproduction, National Agricultural and Food Research and Technology Institute (INIA), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel García-Párraga
- Department of Biology, Avanqua-Oceanogràfic S.L, Valencia, Spain.,Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic, Valencia, Spain
| | - Manuel Avilés
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Mᵃ José Izquierdo Rico
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
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Consuegra C, Crespo F, Dorado J, Diaz-Jimenez M, Pereira B, Sánchez-Calabuig MJ, Beltrán-Breña P, Pérez-Cerezales S, Rizos D, Hidalgo M. Fertilizing capacity of vitrified stallion sperm assessed utilizing heterologous IVF after different semen warming procedures. Anim Reprod Sci 2020; 223:106627. [PMID: 33080568 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2020.106627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertilizing capacity of frozen or vitrified stallion sperm after assessing different warming procedures. In Experiment 1, different warming procedures were compared after sperm vitrification: immersion in extender at 43 °C (C), or in a water bath at 37 °C/30 s (W37), 43 °C/10 s (W43) or 60 °C/5 s (W60). With the W60 treatment, there were greater values (P < 0.05) for VCL (83.93 ± 3.6 μm/s) and ALH (3.00 ± 0.2 μm) than freezing and with the C group, and greater values (P < 0.001) for PM (35.33 ± 2.5 %) than with the W43 treatment. In Experiment 2, the fertilizing capacity of vitrified and frozen sperm was assessed utilizing heterologous IVF procedures, using cattle oocytes. Vitrification resulted in greater values (P < 0.05) than freezing for the number of bound sperm (1.36 ± 0.3 and 0.69 ± 0.2, respectively). There were no differences between frozen or vitrified sperm in pronuclear formation (26 hours post-insemination - hpi; 14.08 ± 4.2 % and 22.78 ± 4.8 %, respectively) or cleavage rate (32.77 ± 4.3 % and 39.66 ± 4.6 %, respectively). In conclusion, vitrified stallion sperm warmed in a water bath at 60 ºC had the capacity to penetrate cattle oocytes, leading to pronuclear formation and hybrid embryo cleavage after heterologous IVF.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Consuegra
- Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
| | - F Crespo
- Department of Reproduction, Centro Militar de Cría Caballar (CCFAS-Ministry of Defense), Ávila, Spain
| | - J Dorado
- Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
| | - M Diaz-Jimenez
- Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
| | - B Pereira
- Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
| | - M J Sánchez-Calabuig
- Department of Animal Reproduction, SGIT-INIA, Madrid, Spain; Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - D Rizos
- Department of Animal Reproduction, SGIT-INIA, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Hidalgo
- Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
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Galarza DA, Ladrón de Guevara M, Beltrán-Breña P, Sánchez-Calabuig MJ, Rizos D, López-Sebastián A, Santiago-Moreno J. Influence of sperm filtration and the addition of glycerol to UHT skimmed milk- and TEST-based extenders on the quality and fertilizing capacity of chilled ram sperm. Theriogenology 2019; 133:29-37. [PMID: 31055159 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2019] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The poor fertility of ram semen stored chilled for long periods has encouraged the development of protocols designed to improve the kinetic vigour and cervical barrier-crossing capacity of sperm. The present work evaluated the effect of sperm selection with Sephadex filtration and the supplementation of 2% glycerol (GLY) to extenders based on ultra-heat-treated skimmed milk (UHT) or Tris-Tes-Glucose (TEST) on ram sperm kinetic parameters, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial function and fertilizing ability, over long chilling times. The results showed that for non-filtered semen, values for progressive sperm motility (%PSM), straight line velocity (VSL, μm/s) and the percentage of sperm with an intact plasma membrane/intact acrosome/a high mitochondrial function index (%IPIAHM) at all times up to 96 h of chilling were higher when the UHT extender (P < 0.01) was used compared to TEST extender irrespective of the presence of GLY. When semen was previously filtered with Sephadex, the addition of GLY to the UHT extender improved total motility (%TM), the %PSM and the VSL at 96 h compared to all other treatments (P < 0.01). The best results of all were obtained with non-filtered semen and UHT either with or without GLY. Heterologous IVF using zona-intact bovine oocytes was used to assess the fertilizing capacity of non-filtered fresh (FS0), chilled-for-24 h (CS24) or chilled-for-48 h (CS48) ram semen diluted in UHT extender (GLY-free). Heterologous IVF showed that ram sperm, either FS0, CS24 or CS48, were equally capable of penetrating zona pellucida intact bovine oocytes, leading to pronuclear formation and hybrid embryo cleavage (46.3 ± 3.2; 48.8 ± 3.2; and 43.3 ± 3.5, respectively). No differences were seen with respect to fresh sperm in terms of sperm binding, penetration, polyspermy, pronucleus formation or cleavage rates (P > 0.05). In conclusion, neither Sephadex filtration nor addition of glycerol provided extra benefits to ram sperm chilled up to 96 h. Chilled, non-filtered sperm extended with UHT without GLY showed better sperm functionality than did similar sperm extended with TEST extenders. Indeed, sperm diluted in UHT extender, maintained fertilizing ability up to 48 h.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Galarza
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, EC010205, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | | | - P Beltrán-Breña
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - M J Sánchez-Calabuig
- Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, UCM, Madrid, Spain.
| | - D Rizos
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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Pradieé J, Sánchez-Calabuig M, Castaño C, O'Brien E, Esteso M, Beltrán-Breña P, Maillo V, Santiago-Moreno J, Rizos D. Fertilizing capacity of vitrified epididymal sperm from Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica). Theriogenology 2018; 108:314-320. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Sánchez-Calabuig MJ, García-Vázquez FA, Laguna-Barraza R, Barros-García C, García-Parraga D, Rizos D, Gutiérrez Adan A, Pérez-Gutíerrez JF. Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Spermatozoa: Collection, Cryopreservation, and Heterologous In Vitro Fertilization. J Vis Exp 2017. [PMID: 28872129 DOI: 10.3791/55237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of cryopreserved dolphin spermatozoa facilitates the exchange of genetic material between aquatic parks and makes spermatozoa accessible to laboratories for studies to further our understanding of marine mammal reproduction. Heterologous IVF, a replacement for homologous IVF, could provide a means to test the sperm fertility potential; to study gamete physiology and early embryo development; and to avoid the use of valuable dolphin oocytes, which are difficult to obtain. Here, we present protocols that have been successfully used to collect and cryopreserve dolphin spermatozoa. The collection of semen is performed by manual stimulation on trained dolphins. Cryopreservation is accomplished using a TRIS egg-yolk based extender with glycerol. In addition, we present a protocol that describes heterologous IVF using dolphin spermatozoa and bovine oocytes and that verifies the hybrid nature of the resulting embryo using PCR. Heterologous fertilization raises questions on fertilization and can be used as a tool to study gamete physiology and early embryo development. In addition, the success of heterologous IVF demonstrates the potential of this technique to test dolphin sperm fertilizing capacity, which is worth further examination.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Jesús Sánchez-Calabuig
- Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA); Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
| | | | - Ricardo Laguna-Barraza
- Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
| | | | - Daniel García-Parraga
- Veterinary Services, L'Oceanográfic, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Junta de Murs i Vals, s/n, 46013
| | - Dimitrios Rizos
- Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
| | - Alfonso Gutiérrez Adan
- Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
| | - José Félix Pérez-Gutíerrez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid;
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Estimating the binding ability of collared peccary ( Pecari tajacu Linnaeus, 1758) sperm using heterologous substrates. Theriogenology 2017; 92:57-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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9
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Crichton EG, Malo C, Pukazhenthi BS, Nagy P, Skidmore JA. Evaluation of cholesterol- treated dromedary camel sperm function by heterologous IVF and AI. Anim Reprod Sci 2016; 174:20-28. [PMID: 27622555 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2016.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Revised: 08/13/2016] [Accepted: 08/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Cholesterol (cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins: CLC) treatment of dromedary camel sperm prior to freezing enhances cryosurvival. The present study first validated the efficacy of a heterologous zona-free goat oocyte assay (n=115 oocytes) to evaluate camel sperm function in vitro (Experiment 1: n=6 bulls), then examined the effects of CLC treatment (1.5mg/mL CLC; CLC+) versus no treatment (0 CLC) of fresh (Experiment 2: n=4 bulls) and frozen-thawed (Experiment 3: n=5 bulls) camel sperm to penetrate, de-condense and form pro-nuclei in in vitro-matured goat oocytes. Finally, the ability of fresh 0 CLC and CLC+ sperm to fertilize in vivo was studied by artificially inseminating super-ovulated females (n=7-9 per treatment) and examining embryo production (Experiment 4: n=4-5 bulls/treatment). Camel spermatozoa penetrated (60%) and formed pro-nuclei (33%) in goat oocytes demonstrating the utility of this heterologous system for assessing sperm function in vitro. For fresh spermatozoa, 0 CLC-treated sperm performed better than their CLC+ counterparts for all parameters measured (P<0.05). In contrast, cryopreservation resulted in a sharp decline in sperm-oocyte interaction in 0 CLC aliquots but remained unaltered in CLC+ aliquots demonstrating a protective effect of cholesterol treatment. There was no difference between treatments in the in vitro fertilizing ability of frozen-thawed sperm or in the numbers of embryos retrieved following AI with fresh 0 CLC or CLC+ sperm. We conclude that although CLC treatment of dromedary camel sperm improves sperm motility it fails to confer an advantage to them in terms of improved in vitro sperm-oocyte interaction or in vivo fertilization under the conditions tested.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clara Malo
- Camel Reproduction Centre, PO Box 79914, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Budhan S Pukazhenthi
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Center for Species Survival, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Peter Nagy
- Emirates Industries for Camel Milk and Products (EICMP), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Julian A Skidmore
- Camel Reproduction Centre, PO Box 79914, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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