• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.373-390
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• 1992

To assay the fertilizing capacity of domestic animal spermatozoa by hamster test, semen were collected from 13 boars(Duroc. Landrace and Yorkshire) which had been proved to be fertile in the past. then, were preserved in BWW medium or in raw state at 18$^{\circ}C$ or at room temperature. The preserved semen were given each different treatment according to the experimental design and coincubated with zona-free hamster ova for 5 hours. The ova were stained by lacmoid and examined under phase contrast microscope to investigate the rates of ova bound with sperm(sperm binding). ova penetrated by sperm(penetration) and formation of a male pronucleus(pronucleus formation) and also numbers of both bound and penetrated sperm per ovum. Between BWW and TBM medium for boar sperm. no difference in the results of hamster test was obtained. The boar spermatozoa in BWW medium, BWW with caffeine, BWW with heparin, and BWW with both caffeine and heparin showed no difference in the results of hamster test. The boar spermatozoa in BWW medium containing both calcium and RSA showed considerably higher rates of sperm binding, penetration and pronucleus formation as well as higher numbers of both bound and penetrated sperm than those not containing calcium with or without BSA( p<0.01) and also the same results higher than that containing calcium without BSA( p< 0.05). The boar spermatozoa irradiated by X-ray(70 KVP, 20mA) for 3 seconds. then, maintained at 18$^{\circ}C$ for 18 hours showed considerably lower rate of sperm binding than all the other groups including the control and X-ray groups irradiated by smaller dose or maintained for shorter period(p<0.01), and also showed lower number of bound sperm than the other groups(p<0.01, p<0.05). All the control groups of both raw and diluted sperm in BWM medium showed higher rates of sperm binding, penetration and pronucleus formation as well as higher number of penetrated sperm than all the X-ray groups irradiated for 3 seconds(70KVP, 20mA) and maintained for either 3 or 18 hours (p<0.01, p<0.05). At the same time the control groups of diluted sperm showed considerably higher rates of sperm penetration and pronucleus formation than the control group of raw sperm( p<0.01). These results indicates that fertile boar sperm showed considerably lower rates In the results of hamster test, when incubated in the medium without calcium and irradiated by X-ray than when incubated in the medium with calcium and not irradiated by X-ray, respectively, to prove consequently that hamster test would be of great value in assaying the fertilizing capacity of boar spermatozoa.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.586-592
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• 2023

Oxidative stress is a critical factor affecting the quality and viability of sperm during boar semen storage. Oxidative stress is also a significant concern during the process of freezing semen. The process of semen storage involves exposing the sperm to various stressors, including temperature changes, cryoprotectants, and extended periods of incubation. In addition, oxidative stress can lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the sperm, resulting in oxidative damage to cellular components, such as lipids, proteins, and DNA. Striking a balance between ROS production and the antioxidant defense system is crucial for maintaining sperm viability and functionality during semen storage. Moreover, the prolonged storage of boar semen leads to an increase in ROS levels, which can impair sperm motility, membrane integrity, and DNA integrity. ROS-induced lipid peroxidation affects the fluidity and stability of sperm membranes, leading to decreased sperm motility. Moreover, oxidative damage to the DNA can result in DNA fragmentation, compromising the genetic integrity of the sperm. In conclusion, oxidative stress is a significant challenge in maintaining sperm quality during boar semen storage. Understanding the mechanisms underlying oxidative stress and their impacts on sperm function is crucial for developing effective strategies to minimize oxidative damage and improve sperm storage outcomes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.612-616
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• 2004

This study was carried out to compare the semen characteristics, frozen-thawed sperm viability and testosterone concentration and in vitro fertilization (IVF) and development of in vitro matured pig oocytes between two Yorkshire boars. Semen and blood samples were collected once per week from October to November 2002 from two adult Yorkshire boars at 18 months of age with 170 kg body weight. Sperm were deep frozen in 5 ml maxi-straws with lactose-egg yolk and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (LEN) diluent and stored in liquid nitrogen. Blood samples were obtained at 10 a.m. by inserting a 21 gauge, hypodermic needle attached to 10 ml syringe into surface veins in the ear. The concentration of testosterone was determined by Competitive Enzyme Immunoassay. Ovaries were collected from prepubertal gilts at a local slaughter house. Cumulus oocyte complexes were aspirated from antral follicles (3 to 6 mm in diameter). The medium used for oocyte maturation was modified TCM 199. After about 22 h of culture, oocytes were cultured without cysteamine and hormones for 22 h at $38.5^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ in air. For IVF, one frozen 5 ml straw was thawed at $52^{\circ}C$in 40 sec and was diluted with 20 ml Beltsville thawing solution at room temperature. Sperm were washed 2 times in mTLP-PVA and inseminated without preincubation after thawing. Oocytes were inseminated with $2{\times}10^7$/ml sperm concentration. Oocytes were coincubated for 6 h in 500 ${\mu}$l mTBM fertilization medium. At 6 h after IVF, oocytes were transferred into 500 ${\mu}$l NCSU-23 culture medium for further culture of 48 and 144 h. There were no significant differences in the semen volume, motility, normal acrosome morphology and sperm concentration of raw semen between A and B of Yorkshire boar. However, motility and normal acrosome of boar A were higher than those of boar B at 0.5, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 h incubations of frozen-thawed sperm. Testosterone concentration (3.75 ng/ml) of boar A was higher than that (2.34 ng/ml) of boar B. The rate of blastocyst formation (15.1%) of boar A was higher than that (10.4%) of boar B. In conclusion, serum testosterone concentration of boar showed very important role for the frozen-thawed sperm viability and the blastocyst formation of pig oocytes matured in vitro.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.133-136
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• 1992

Glass wool filtration and swim-up method resulted in inreasing to 58.3% and 62.7% of the progressive motility in frozen-thawed boar sperm, compared to 34.2% in the untreated sperm. Glass wool filtration tended to be more successful than swim-up method for the survival sfter incubation of 38.5$^{\circ}C$ for 3h. Sperm recovered by both the swim-up method and the glass wool filtration method were tested in an in vitro fertilization to determine which of the two techniques would yield sperm with high fertilizing capacity. The results indicated that there was a significantly(p

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.45-48
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to select high-quality boar semen after the glass wool filtration of extended boar semen. After collecting boar semen, its concentration, morphology, viability, and motility were examined according the glass wool's height and time. After glass wool filtration, the sperm concentration decreased, but the proportion of normal sperms and the sperm viability increased. Nevertheless, the sperm motility showed no changes. The above results showed that the glass wool filtration of boar semen is a method of obtaining sperms with relatively low abnormal rates and high viabilities.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1369-1373
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• 2004

The percentages of sperm motility and normal acrosome on the liquid boar semen diluted and preserved at $4^{\circ}C$ with lactose hydrate, egg yolk and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (LEN) diluent were significant differences according to preservation day and incubation time, respectively. The sperm motility steadily declined from 96.9% at 0.5 h incubation to 78.8% at 6 h incubation at 1 day of preservation. However, the sperm motility rapidly declined after 4 day of preservation during incubation. The normal acrosome steadily declined from 93.3% at 0.5 h incubation to 73.8% at 6 h incubation at 1 day of preservation. However, the normal acrosome rapidly declined after 3 day of preservation during incubation. The rates of sperm penetration and polyspermy were higher in 5 and $10{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml than in 0.2 and $1{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml. Mean numbers of sperm in penetrated oocyte were highest in $10{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml compared with other sperm concentrations. The rates of blastocysts from the cleaved oocytes (2-4 cell stage) were highest in $1{\times}10^6$sperm/ml compared with other sperm concentrations. In conclusion, we found out that liquid boar sperm stored at $4^{\circ}C$ could be used for in vitro fertilization of pig oocytes matured in vitro. Also, we recommend $1{\times}10^6$sperm/ml concentration for in vitro fertilization of pig oocytes.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.307-316
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• 2022

The misuse of pesticides has resulted in environmental pollution, which directly or indirectly affects all life on earth. Chlorpyrifos is a chlorinated organophosphorus pesticide that is commonly used in agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chlorpyrifos on the fertilization function of boar spermatozoa. Sperm samples from boars were subjected to varying concentrations of chlorpyrifos from 10 to 200 µM for two incubation periods, 30 min or 2 hrs. The boar spermatozoa were then evaluated for motility, motion kinematics, viability, acrosome integrity, chromatin stability, and generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). There was a significant percentage reduction in sperm motility and motion kinematic parameters after both incubation periods (p < 0.05). The proportion of viable spermatozoa decreased after incubation for 30 min and 2 hrs in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). A significantly lower percentage of normal acrosomes was observed in spermatozoa exposed to 200 µM chlorpyrifos over both incubation periods, compared to the controls. The damage to sperm DNA was significantly higher when the exposure time to chlorpyrifos was longer. There was a significant increase in the ROS levels in spermatozoa incubated with chlorpyrifos for 2 hrs (p < 0.05). From the results of the present study, it is concluded that direct exposure of boar spermatozoa to chlorpyrifos altered boar sperm characteristics, suggesting potential toxicity that may affect the male reproductive function.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.63-63
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• 2003

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of liquid boar sperm stored at 4$^{\circ}C$ on sperm motility, normal acrosome, and in-vitro fertilization and culture of pig oocytes matured in-vitro. The sperm-rich fraction (30~60 ml) of ejaculate was collected into an insulated vacuum bottle. Semen was slowly cooled to room temperature (20~23$^{\circ}C$) by 2 h after collection. Semen was transferred into 15 ml tubes, centrifuged at room temperature for 10 min at 800$\times$g, and the supernatant solution was poured off. The concentrated sperm was resuspended with 5 ml of lactose, egg yolk and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (LEN) diluent to provide 1.0$\times$10$^{9}$ sperm/ml at room temperature. The resuspended semen was cooled in a refrigerator to 4$^{\circ}C$ and preserved for 5 days to examine sperm motility and normal acrosome. The medium used for oocyte maturation was modified tissue culture medium (TCM) 199. After about 22 h of culture, oocytes were cultured without cysteamine and hormones for 22 h at 38.5$^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ in air. Oocytes were inseminated with liquid boar sperm stored at 4$^{\circ}C$ for 2 days after collection. Oocytes were coincubated for 6 h in 500 ${mu}ell$ mTBM fertilization media with 0.2, 1, 5 and 10$\times$10$^{6}$ /ml sperm concentration, respectively. At 6 h after IVF, oocytes were transferred into 500 ${mu}ell$ Hepes-buffered NCSU-23 culture medium for further culture of 6, 48 and 144 h. There were significant differences in sperm motility and normal acrosome among preservation days and incubation times, respectively. The rates of sperm penetration and polyspermy were higher in 5 and 10$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml than in 0.2 and 1$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml. Male pronuclear formation was lower in 0.2$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml than in 1, 5 and 10$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml. Mean numbers of sperm in penetrated oocyte were highest in 10$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml compared with other sperm concentrations. The rate of blastocysts from the cleaved oocytes (2~4 cell stage) was highest in 1$\times$10$^{6}$ sperm/ml compared with other sperm concentrations. In conclusion, we found out that liquid boar sperm stored at 4$^{\circ}C$ could be used for in-vitro fertilization of pig oocytes matured in-vitro. Also, we recommend 1$\times$10$^{6}$ ml sperm concentration for in-vitro fertilization of pig oocytes.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 1999

This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of osmolarity of thawing diluents, seminal plasma added in thawing diluents on the sperm viability and the effects of thawing temperature, the temparature of the thawing diluents on the sperm viability and acrosomal morphology of boar spermatozoa by the straw method. The result obtained were summarized as follows: 1. The sperm viablilty after thawing of the frozen semen was shown greater in the high osmolarity(392~492mOsm) than low osmolarity(300mOsm) in thawing diluent. The added levels of seminal plasma in thawing diluent did not affect the viability of frozen-thawed boar semen. 2. In terms of thawing temperature, the sperm viability was shown higher in the frozen semen thawed at 5$0^{\circ}C$ for one min. (p<0.01) than those thawed at 2$0^{\circ}C$ or 37$^{\circ}C$ for one min. The sperm viability was not significant at the diluent temparature of 2$0^{\circ}C$or 37$^{\circ}C$ after thawing: but the sperm viability was higher in thawing diluent at 2$0^{\circ}C$ than in that at 37$^{\circ}C$. However, the effects of thawing temperature and diluent solution on normal acrosomal rate were not significant. 3. Cleavage rates of oocytes fertilized with frozen semen were 46.4% and 43.3%, respectively, which were thawed at 5$0^{\circ}C$ for one min. and then diluted in mBTS medium at 2$0^{\circ}C$or 37$^{\circ}C$. To sum up, the sperm viability was shown greater at the high of thawing diluents of frozen boar semen. In terms of thawing conditions, the sperm viability was shown greater, when semen was thawed at a high temperature for a short time and then diluted at the same temperature as that in the straw.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2019

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) combined with bovine serum albumin (BSA) or methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD) on plasma and acrosomal membrane damages, mitochondrial activity, morphological abnormality, motility, and oxidative stress in frozen-thawed boar sperm. In previous our study, 3 ng/mL ALA had been shown protective effect during freezing process of boar sperm. Therefore, we used 3 ng/mL ALA in present study and ALA was combined with same molar ratio of BSA or MBCD (ALA+BSA and ALA+MBCD, respectively). To confirm the effect of two carrier proteins, same volume of BSA and MBCD without ALA were added during cryopreservation. Membrane damage, mitochondrial activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels were measured using flow cytometry, and movement of sperm tail as motility parameter and morphological abnormality were observed under light microscope. In results, all of sperm parameters were enhanced by ALA combined with BSA or MBCD compared to control groups (p<0.05). Mitochondrial activity, morphological abnormality, ROS and LPO levels in ALA+BSA or MBCD groups were no significant difference compared with ALA, BSA and MBCD treatment groups. On the other hand, plasma and acrosomal membrane intact, and sperm motility in ALA+MBCD group were higher than single treatment groups (p<0.05), whereas ALA+BSA did not differ. Our findings indicate that carrier proteins such as BSA and MBCD could improve the effect of ALA during cryopreservation of boar sperm, and treatment of ALA with carrier proteins enhance membrane integrity, mitochondrial activity through reduction of ROS-induced LPO.