Evidence is provided that the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase is covalently linked to the fibrous sheath. The fibrous sheath is a typical structure of mammalian spermatozoa surrounding the axoneme in the principal piece of the flagellum. More than 90% of boar sperm glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity is sedimented after cell disintegration by centrifugat...

The use of frozen semen in the swine industry is limited by problems with viability and fertility compared with liquid semen. Part of the reduction in sperm motility and fertility associated with cryopreservation may be due to oxidative damage from excessive or inappropriate formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chemiluminescence measurements of ROS are not possible in live cells and are ...

Peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2) is a highly efficient redox protein that neutralizes hydrogen peroxide, resulting in protection of cells from oxidative damage and in regulation of peroxide-mediated signal transduction events. The oxidized form of PRDX2 is reverted back to the reduced form by the thioredoxin system. In the present study, we investigated the presence of PRDX2 in mouse and boar spermatozo...

The ability of sperm cells to develop colored formazan by reduction of MTT was used earlier to develop a spectrophotometric assay to determine the viability of sperm cells for several mammalian species. It was the objective of the present study to visualize microscopically the location of the formazan in boar sperm cells. The MTT staining process of boar sperm cells can be divided into a series...

Boar spermatozoa contain isoforms of both glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, EC 1.2.1.12) and pyruvate kinase (PK, EC 2.7.1.40). The sperm-specific forms, GAPDH-S and PK-S, are tightly bound to cell structures. By immunofluorescence microscopy GAPDH-S and PK-S were localised in the principal piece of the boar sperm flagellum as well as in the acrosomal region of the sperm head and...

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a native shrub from South African fynbos and has become very popular in the last decades for its antioxidant and medicinal attributes. Several studies have shown its beneficial properties in numerous cell lines, but to date, the in vitro effects of rooibos extract on sperm cells are still unknown. In this study, boar semen was supplemented with four concentratio...

The purpose of the present study was twofold: 1) to determine if antibodies raised against ubiquitin would recognize antigens associated with the porcine cytoplasmic droplet (CD), and 2) to determine if the same antibody would identify ubiquitinated substrates on the surface of morphologically abnormal boar spermatozoa. Permeabilization with the detergent Triton X-100 (0.05%) showed virtually a...

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This case report concerns a 3.5-year-old Duroc boar with an enlargement of the left hemiscrotum. Sonography revealed multiple hypoechogenic cavities around the testis, indicating a complex hydrocele. An infectious origin of the hydrocele was excluded by laboratory tests. Repeated semen analysis by microscope, computer-assisted sperm analyzer, flow cytometric assessment, and sperm chromatin stru...

The sperm mobility assay used in the present study measures the rate of sperm penetration in a biologically inert cell-separation solution (Accudenz). When a sample of sperm is overlaid in a cuvette containing Accudenz, sperm penetrate the solution and absorbance of the sample can be measured with a spectrophotometer. This assay has been successfully used to select chicken and turkey semen dono...