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Alves NDC, Diniz SDA, Viegas RN, Arigoni AL, Freitas MM, Lana ÂQ, Lagares MDA. Action of swim-up and caffeine on equine frozen sperm. Anim Reprod 2022; 19:e20220056. [PMID: 36504918 PMCID: PMC9706678 DOI: 10.1590/1984-3143-ar2022-0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryopreservation of equine semen is crucial to semen commercialization. However, it reduces sperm motility and longevity. Thus, sperm selection methods and addition of motility-activating substances to sperm, such as caffeine, may improve sperm quality of equine frozen semen. The objective of the current work was to evaluate the effects of caffeine on recovery and quality parameters of frozen-thawed sperm subjected to swim-up selection to be used in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in assisted reproductive techniques. Stallion semen were frozen and after thawing different caffeine concentrations were added to the samples performing four treatments control (no caffeine), 3, 5, and 7.5 mM caffeine. Sperm kinematic and motility were assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Then, the four treated samples were submitted to the swim-up sperm selection, and the number of recovered sperm and morphology were evaluated at four times 20, 40, 60, and 80 min. The swim-up increased the recovery proportion of normal morphology sperm without (80.1±1%) or with caffeine addition (3mM: 81.2±1%, 5mM: 79.9±1% and 7.5 mM 78.9±1%) compared to the thawed semen (70±2%). However, the addition of 5 mM caffeine induced an increase in sperm motility (38.9±2.8 vs. 32.6±3.4%, P<0.05), and sperm recovery after swim-up (7.9x106 vs. 3.4x106 sperm/ml, P<0.05) compared to the control. The addition of 5 mM caffeine to frozen-thawed equine semen before swim-up selection improved sperm motility and increased the sperm recovery rate while not decreasing the percentage of morphologically normal sperm. Thus, caffeine addition to frozen-thawed equine semen before swim-up selection has potential clinical application in improving sperm quality for use in ICSI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália de Castro Alves
- Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil,Corresponding author: ;
| | | | - Rodrigo Novaes Viegas
- Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
| | - Ana Luiza Arigoni
- Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
| | - Marina Morra Freitas
- Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
| | - Ângela Quintão Lana
- Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
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Lagares MDA, da Silva GC, Cortes SF, Moreira FHM, Neves FCD, Alves NDC, Viegas RN, Diniz TF, Lemos VS, de Rezende ASC, Freitas MM, Stahlberg R, Nicolino RR. L-carnitine added to post-thawed semen acts as an antioxidant and a stimulator of equine sperm metabolism. Andrologia 2021; 54:e14338. [PMID: 34878673 DOI: 10.1111/and.14338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to enhance the in vitro sperm quality and in vivo fertility of frozen-thawed equine semen by the addition of l-carnitine (LC) to post-thawed semen. Different concentrations of LC were added to thawed samples to obtain four treatments control and 0.5, 1 and 2 mM LC. In the in vitro experiments, sperm motility and kinematics, membrane integrity and intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+ ]i ) were investigated, and the antioxidant bioactivity of LC was assessed by measuring hydrogen peroxide and nitrite concentrations (NO2 - ). The fertility rate was assessed via the artificial insemination of mares. The treatment with 1 mM LC increased sperm [Ca2+ ]i (60.6 ± 0.05 AU), reduced nitrite concentration (39.1 ± 14.9 µM/µg protein), increased the sperm straightness percentage (STR: 78.3 ± 5.3%) and increased the pregnancy rate (75%) as compared to the control ([Ca2+ ]i 48.4 ± 0.05 AU, NO2 - concentration 63.1 ± 14.4 µM/µg protein, STR 67.5 ± 7.9%, 12.5% pregnancy rate, p < 0.05). These results suggest that 1 mM LC acts as an antioxidant and stimulator of sperm metabolism in post-thawed equine semen, increasing the fertility rate. Thus, addition of LC might be an alternative to improve the fertility of poor quality post-thawed equine semen.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Steyner Franca Cortes
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Rodrigo Novaes Viegas
- Veterinary School, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Thiago Frederico Diniz
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Virginia Soares Lemos
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Marina Morra Freitas
- Veterinary School, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Rubens Stahlberg
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University (PUC- Minas) of Minas Gerais, Betim, Brazil
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Alves NDC, Diniz SDA, Viegas RN, Cortes SF, Costa ED, Freitas MM, Martins-Filho OA, Araújo MSS, Lana ÂMQ, Wenceslau RR, Lagares MDA. Addition of caffeine to equine thawed sperm increases motility and decreases nitrite concentration. Andrologia 2020; 53:e13918. [PMID: 33368488 DOI: 10.1111/and.13918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to improve the quality of frozen-thawed equine sperm by the addition of caffeine to it. Semen from nine stallions was frozen and different concentrations of caffeine (3, 5 and 7.5 mM) were added to frozen-thawed semen. The sperm kinetic parameters, membrane functionality and integrity, and acrosome integrity and spontaneous acrosome reacted sperm were evaluated with a computer-assisted sperm analysis, a hypoosmotic swelling test and epifluorescent microscopy, respectively. Nitrite and hydroperoxide concentrations of frozen-thawed semen were measured using spectrophotometry. Sperm fertility was evaluated by artificial insemination (AI) of 16 mares with thawed ejaculates (control and 5 mM caffeine-treated groups). Compared to that in the control, the addition of 5 mM caffeine induced an increase in sperm motility (38.9 ± 2.8 versus 32.6 ± 3.4%), and a decrease in nitrite concentration (11.4 ± 2.1 versus 12.8 ± 2.9 µM/µg protein, p < .05). Moreover, the pregnancy rate from AI in the caffeine group was significantly higher (62.5%) than that in the control group (12.5%). These data suggest that caffeine reduced the nitrite concentration and enhanced sperm motility in thawed equine sperm, thus increasing the fertility rate in mares inseminated with caffeine-treated equine semen.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Rodrigo Novaes Viegas
- Veterinary School, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Steyner Franca Cortes
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Damasceno Costa
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Marina Morra Freitas
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Betim, Brazil
| | - Olindo Assis Martins-Filho
- René Rachou Research Center - Fiocruz, Laboratory of Diagnostic and Monitoring Biomarkers, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Márcio Sobreira Silva Araújo
- René Rachou Research Center - Fiocruz, Laboratory of Diagnostic and Monitoring Biomarkers, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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