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Antioxidant supplementation of boar spermatozoa from different fractions of the ejaculate improves cryopreservation: changes in sperm membrane lipid architecture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2004

F.J. Peña
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Box 7039, SE-750-07 Uppsala, Sweden. Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Extremadura, Avda de la Universidad s/n, 10071 Cáceres, Spain.
A. Johannisson
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Box 7039, SE-750-07 Uppsala, Sweden.
M. Wallgren
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Box 7039, SE-750-07 Uppsala, Sweden. Quality Genetics, Kävlinge, Sweden.
H. Rodriguez Martinez
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Box 7039, SE-750-07 Uppsala, Sweden.

Abstract

Previous studies have shown sperm quality after cryopreservation differs depending on the fraction of seminal plasma the boar spermatozoa are contained in. Thus, spermatozoa contained in the first 10 ml of the sperm-rich fraction (portion I) withstand handling procedures (extension, handling and freezing/thawing) better than those contained in the latter part of a fractionated ejaculate (second portion of the sperm-rich fraction and the post-spermatic fraction; portion II). The present study evaluated whether an exogenous antioxidant, the water-soluble vitamin E analogue Trolox (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid), could, when added to the freezing extender in a split-sample design trial, improve the post-thaw viability and membrane quality of this particular portion of the ejaculate, with particular attention to the status of the plasma membrane. Using a split-sample design, the initial changes in the fluidity status of the sperm plasmalemma after thawing were measured by flow cytometry (FC) after loading with Merocyanine-540 and YO-PRO-1. The FC-derived data revealed a clear ejaculate portion-dependent effect of the antioxidant supplementation. While no beneficial effect of the antioxidant supplementation was visible in spermatozoa from portion I, more spermatozoa with intact membranes were observed in the supplemented samples of portion II, suggesting the protective effect of vitamin E is dependent of the portion of the boar ejaculate considered.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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