.............................................................................................................................. I POPULÄRVETENSKAPLIG SAMMANFATTNING ........................................................... II LIST OF PAPERS .................................................................................................................... V ABBREVIATIONS .........................

Oviductal apical plasma membrane fractions have been successfully used to provide an in vitro model to study the role of direct membrane contact in sperm-oviduct interactions. Apical plasma membrane preparations from pig oviductal tissues show a dose-response in their ability to maintain boar sperm viability in vitro. Membrane preparations obtained from other tissues (lung and duodenum) are inc...

Fertilization at increased times after ovulation is associated with poor reproductive outcomes. This study examines the effects of post-ovulatory ageing on egg membrane function through analyses of mouse eggs collected at 13 and 22 h post-HCG ('young' and 'aged' eggs, respectively). Experiments in which fertilized zona pellucida-free young and aged eggs are challenged with additional sperm reve...

The role of seminal plasma (SP) in mammalian sperm function remains largely a matter of speculation as both inhibitory and stimulating effects have been found. Specific components of SP, particularly proteins, are adsorbed onto the surface of ejaculated sperm as they pass through the male and female reproductive tracts. These sperm coating components seem to have the important function of maint...

background: the lipids of the spermatozoa membrane are important for the fluidity and flexibility of spermatozoa. however, spermatozoa’s lipids are the main substrates for peroxidation, which may provoke severe functional disorder of sperm. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the fatty acids composition of spermatozoa in men with asthenozoospermia, asthenoteratozoospermia and ol...

The extracellular coat, or zona pellucida, of mammalian eggs contains species-specific receptors to which sperm bind as a prelude to fertilization. In mice, ZP3, one of only three zona pellucida glycoproteins, serves as sperm receptor. Acrosome-intact, but not acrosome-reacted, mouse sperm recognize and interact with specific O-linked oligosaccharides of ZP3 resulting in sperm-egg binding. Bind...

Boar semen cryopreservation remains a challenge due to the extension of cold shock damage. Thus, many alternatives have emerged to improve the quality of frozen-thawed boar sperm. Although the use of seminal plasma arising from boar sperm-rich fraction (SP-SRF) has shown good efficacy; however, the majority of actual sperm evaluation techniques include a single or dual sperm parameter analysis,...

Background: Artificial insemination is a valuable tool in genetic improvement programs and widely used breeding technique in farm animals. Semen processing and cryopreservation causes considerable damage to sperm DNA, motility apparatus, plasma membrane, acrosomal cap and thus, reduced fertility. Selenium is an integral part of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), an enzyme which protects cell inte...

We aim to visualize the external physical damages and distinct external phenotypic effects between mechanical and laser-assisted immobilized human spermatozoa using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Human spermatozoa were immobilized mechanically or with laser assistance for SEM examination and the membrane integrities were checked on both types of immobilized spermatozoa. We found evidence...

Semen analysis is the frontline and old reliable test in the assessment of male fertility, but it failed to provide absolute prediction of sperm function and its fertilizing ability. A wide variety of internal and external factors affect sperm function without discernible and significant effects on semen analysis. Oxygen toxicity and oxidative stress (OS) are inherent challenge of living cells ...