Abnormal spermatozoa frequently display typical features of oxidative stress, i.e. excessive level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and depleted antioxidant capacity. Moreover, it has been found that a high level of oxidatively damaged DNA is associated with abnormal spermatozoa and male infertility. Therefore, the aim of our study was the comparison of oxidative stress/DNA damage in semen and ...

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of non-enzymatic antioxidants (vitamin C or E) in tris-citric acid buffer (TCA) on post-thaw quality of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bull spermatozoa. Split pooled buffalo bull ejaculates were diluted in TCA egg yolk glycerol extender containing either vitamin C (TCAC), vitamin E (TCAE) or without antioxidant (TCAN) at 37°C. Extended s...

Cryopreservation is an efficient way to store spermatozoa and plays a critical role in the livestock industry as well as in clinical practice. During cryopreservation, cryo-stress causes substantial damage to spermatozoa. In present study, the effects of cryo-stress at various cryopreservation steps, such as dilution / cooling, adding cryoprtectant, and freezing were studied in spermatozoa coll...

The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the mechanism by which nicotine (NIC) alters spermatozoa and to evaluate the expression of nicotinic receptors (nAChR) subunits in human spermatozoa. We analyzed 30 healthy normozoospermic men. Spermatozoa were incubated with NIC 100 ng/ml and the nAChR antagonist, hexamethonium (HEX) (0, 100, 1,000, 10,000 ng/ml) for 3 and 24 h. The followi...

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of sperm pretreatment on the efficiency of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in pigs. This was done by examining the effect of 1) the conservation method (fresh vs frozen); 2) the sperm treatment preinjection (resuspension in Dulbecco phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) vs selection by a Percoll gradient); and 3) the acrosomal and live...

Recently, we generated transposon-transgenic boars (Sus scrofa), which carry three monomeric copies of a fluorophore marker gene. Amazingly, a ubiquitous fluorophore expression in somatic, as well as in germ cells was found. Here, we characterized the prominent fluorophore load in mature spermatozoa of these animals. Sperm samples were analyzed for general fertility parameters, sorted according...

AIM To establish a method for cynomolgus monkey sperm cryopreservation in a chemically defined extender. METHODS Semen samples were collected by electro-ejaculation from four sexually mature male cynomolgus monkeys. The spermatozoa were frozen in straws by liquid nitrogen vapor using egg-yolk-free Tes-Tris mTTE synthetic extender and glycerol as cryoprotectant. The effects of glycerol concent...

BACKGROUND Features of both apoptosis and necrosis have been reported in ejaculated human spermatozoa. This study examines the relative contribution of these two modes of cell death to the demise of these terminally differentiated cells. METHODS Sperm fractions were prepared from aliquots of semen samples from young normozoospermic donors by simple washing from seminal plasma, by discontinuou...

Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, performed with chromosome specific DNA probes labeled with fluorochromes, is a simple and reliable tool for the indirect study of aneuploidies in interphase cells such as spermatozoa. It is known that infertile male patients with poor sperm quality, due to different causes, produce cytogenetically abnormal spermatozoa despite a normal constitutional ...

BACKGROUND The proteolytic chaperone peptide ubiquitin accumulates in defective human spermatozoa. Immunodetection of ubiquitin in human sperm samples correlates with semen quality and male fertility. METHODS Semen samples from 93 men from couples seeking infertility treatment were separated on a PureSperm density gradient and screened by immunofluorescence microscopy with anti-ubiquitin anti...