• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.13-19
• /
• 2024

Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from various sources may impact health due to the generation of frequency bands. Broad pulses emitted within frequency bands can be absorbed by cells, influencing their function. Numerous laboratory studies have demonstrated that mobile phones-generally the most widely used devices-can have harmful effects on sex cells, such as sperm and oocytes, by producing RF-EMR. Moreover, some research has indicated that RF-EMR generated by mobile phones can influence sperm parameters, including motility, morphology, viability, and (most critically) DNA structure. Consequently, RF-EMR can disrupt both sperm function and fertilization. However, other studies have reported that exposure of spermatozoa to RF-EMR does not affect the functional parameters or genetic structure of sperm. These conflicting results likely stem from differences among studies in the duration and exposure distance, as well as the species of animal used. This report was undertaken to review the existing research discussing the effects of RF-EMR on the DNA integrity of mammalian spermatozoa.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.36 no.12
• /
• pp.1796-1805
• /
• 2023

Objective: This study aims to identify heat shock protein70-2 (HSP70-2) and protamine-1 (PRM1) mRNA and protein in Madura bull sperm and demonstrate their relation as bull fertility biomarkers. Methods: The Madura bull fertility rates were grouped based on the percentage of first service conception rate (%FSCR) as high fertility (HF) (79.04%; n = 4), and low fertility (LF) (65.84%; n = 4). mRNA of HSP70-2 and PRM1 with peptidylprolyl isomerase A (PPIA) as a housekeeping gene were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, while enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to measure protein abundance. In the post-thawed semen samples, sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity, and sperm DNA fragmentation index were analyzed. Data analysis was performed on the measured parameters of semen quality, relative mRNA expression, and protein abundance of HSP70-2 and PRM1, among the bulls with various fertility levels (HF and LF) in a one-way analysis of variance analysis. The Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between semen quality, mRNA, proteins, and fertility rate. Results: Relative mRNA expression and protein abundance of HSP70-2 and PRM1 were detected and were found to be highly expressed in bulls with HF (p<0.05) and were associated with several parameters of semen quality. Conclusion: HSP70-2 and PRM1 mRNA and protein molecules have great potential to serve as molecular markers for determining bull fertility.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.48-56
• /
• 2024

Objective: This study investigated the relationship of anthropometric and metabolic risk factors with seminal and sex steroidal hormone parameters in a screened population of healthy males. Methods: The participants were healthy young men without chronic or congenital diseases. The body composition parameters that we investigated were measured weight, height, and waist circumference (WC), as well as bioelectrical impedance analysis. Semen samples were analyzed for semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility and morphology, seminal pH, and liquefaction time. Biochemistry analysis, including glucose and lipid metabolism parameters, was conducted on fasting blood samples. Testicular volume was calculated separately for each testis using ultrasonography. Results: Body mass index exhibited an inverse association with total sperm count. WC showed negative correlations with numerous seminal parameters, including sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm morphology, and follicle-stimulating hormone levels. The basal metabolic rate was associated with seminal pH, liquefaction time, and sperm motility. WC, fat mass percentage, and triglyceride levels exhibited negative correlations with sex hormone binding globulin. The measures of glucose metabolism were associated with a greater number of seminal parameters than the measures of cholesterol metabolism. C-reactive protein levels were inversely associated with sperm concentration and total sperm count. Conclusion: Anthropometric and metabolic risk factors were found to predict semen quality and alterations in sex steroidal hormone levels.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.99-105
• /
• 2009

Curcumin is a major active component of the food flovour tumeric. It has been used for the treatment of many diseases such as inflammatory and infectious diseases, cancer and other disease due to its antioxidant properties. Curcumin is a powerful scavenger of many free radicals such as superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidative effects of curcumin against hydrogen peroxide on semen quality during in vitro storage of boar semen. The sperm treated with different concentration of curcumin (1, 5 and 10 ${\mu}M$) in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (250 ${\mu}M\;H_2O_2$) were incubated for 3, 6 and 9 hr at $37^{\circ}C$ and analyzed sperm characteristics such as motility, membrane integrity (MI), lipid peroxidation (LPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA fragmentation (DF). The sperm motility and MI in $H_2O_2$ treated group ($47.8%{\pm}6.8$ and $24.8%{\pm}2.2$) were significantly decreased when compare to curcumin treated group ($79.8%{\pm}2.7$ and $34.6%{\pm}1.0$, respectively) irrespective of incubation periods(p<0.05). The LPO of spermatozoal plasma membrane was measured by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactions for malondialdehyde (MDA), MDA level in control ($11.6{\pm}0.6\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) and curcumin groups ($10.7{\pm}0.3\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) were lower than those of curcumin plus $H_2O_2$ ($17.1{\pm}0.8\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) or $H_2O_2$ group ($22.5{\pm}1.9\;nmol/L{\times}10^6$) from 3 to 9 hr incubation periods. The DF by sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test and ROS production measured by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence intensity were no significantly difference through all experimental groups (p>0.05). Correlation among evaluation methods for sperm quality, motility vs MI and DF vs ROS was positively correlated while motility vs DF and ROS vs LPO were negatively correlated in all treatment groups. These results demonstrate that curcumin can effectively improve the sperm quality during in vitro storage of boar semen through its hydrogen peroxide scavenging mechanism as an antioxidant.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.163-169
• /
• 2001

OSBA(oocytes-sperm binding assay) is a tool developed for rapid test of optimal condition of IVF medium and protein source by binding ability of mouse sperm and egg. Mouse oocyte-cumulus complexes were prepared by removing of the cumulus cells with 0.1% hyaluronidase. 10$\pm$2 oocytes per 30 ${mu}ell$ medium drop were inseminated with 3 ${mu}ell$ sperm suspension and were cultured f3r 3 hours and 24 hours, respectively. And the oocytes were recovered gently and the No. of sperm bound on oocytes were counted. In the Exp. 1, the ratio of oocytes bound with one sperm at least were 60.2%(50/83), 2%(2/77) and 100%(79/79) in the medium with no protein, FBS(15%, v/v) and BSA(0.4%. w/v), respectively, Fetal bovine serum(FBS) seriously inhibited sperm binding on oocyte, although bovine serum albumin(BSA) promoted the binding ability. The inhibiting effect of FBS was dependent on the concentration of FBS. The sperm binding ability according to oocyte maturity was tested in the Exp. 2. There was no significant difference between Met. II (mature) and Met. I (intermediate mature) oocytes in the number of oocytes bound with sperm and the number of sperm bound on oocytes. Finally, in Exp. 3, two batches of Ham's F10 medium with good and poor quality by OSBA were tested (The ratios of embryos developed from PN 1-cell stage to hatched blastocyst; 25% vs. 70%). In the medium with good quality, sperm binding ability was significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05). The ratio of oocytes bound with one sperm at least was 66% and 90% in the medium with poor and good quality, respectively. Conclusively, It was possible to test IVF medium condition rapidly and easily by OSBA.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.53-60
• /
• 2006

Objective: We tested the usefulness of swim-down technique using human follicular fluid (hFF) in sperm preparation. Methods: Semen samples were obtained from twelve male partners showing asthenozoospermia (sperm motility < 50%) at the time of routine andrologic evaluation in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. After dividing into two aliquots, each samples were processed either by swim-down using 100% hFF or density gradient using SpermGrad. Sperm quality was assessed by computer-assisted semen analyzer (CASA). Results: Motility, Rapid motility, VCL (curvilinear velocity), ALH (amplitude of lateral head displacement), and hyperactivated sperms were significantly increased, and LIN (mean linearity) was decreased significantly after sperm preparation in both groups. Motility was significantly higher after swim-down using 100% hFF when compared with density gradient using SpermGrad ($81.2{\pm}4.7$ vs. $67.6{\pm}2.3$, p=0.02) The other parameters assessed by CASA were not different between the two methods. Conclusion: Swim-down method with 100% hFF may be a useful method in preparation of sperm from asthenozoospermia.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.229-235
• /
• 2010

The MTT assay is one of superior evaluation methods widely used to analyze the viability of metabolically active cell. It can be used to determine the percentage of viable sperm through measurement of the reduction of MTT granules at mitochondria in sperm tail. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal condition of a simple and easy MTT assay to validate boar sperm viability and compare the accuracy of this test with microscopic examination. The MTT reduction rate for sperm viability were analyzed in microtiter plates (96 well) from 1 hr to 5 hr incubation periods at $37^{\circ}C$ using spectrophotometer (microplate reader) at 550 nm wavelength. The remainder of semen sample was simultaneously examined to compare the correlation of accuracy between MTT assay and other sperm parameters. Those sperm parameters were included the motility, survival rates, membrane integrity, mitochondria activity and acrosome integrity. The OD values of MTT assay (MTT reduction rates) did not greatly change at 1 hr to 5 hr incubation periods in different proportion of live and freeze-killed sperms (dead sperm). The MTT reduction rates or survival rates were decreased according to the different concentration of live and dead sperm. The linear regression at 1 hr and 4 hr incubation periods in sperm MTT assay was y=291.55x-72.176 and y= 180.64x-44.569, respectively. There are high correlation between 1 hr and 4 hr incubation periods (p<0.001). The results of MTT assay and other sperm parameters has a positive correlation (p<0.01 or 0.05). The correlation coefficients for MTT assay was 0.88115 for motility, 0.89868 for survival rates, 0.91722 for membrane integrity and 0.77372 for acrosome integrity, respectively. In conclusion, the MTT assay can be used as a reliable and efficient evaluation method for boar sperm viability. It can be use practical means to evaluate the quality of boar sperm by a fast, inexpensive and easy method.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.49-53
• /
• 1991

The development of 2-cell mouse embryos to the blastocyst stage in vitro has been used as a quality control for the media empolyed for human in vitro fertilization. There was a comparison between the quality control data of the culture medium as ascertained by 2-cell mouse embryos development and sperm motility and the data from fertilization and cleavage of human oocytes. However, there was no obvious association between fertilization and cleavage of human oocytes and the quality of the medium ascertained by mouse embryo development and sperm motility.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.178-188
• /
• 2013

The glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) present in the female reproductive tract promote sperm capacitation. When bovine sperm were exposed to 10 ${\mu}g/ml$ of one of four GAGs (Chondroitin sulfate, CS; Dermatan sulfate, DS; Hyaluronic acid, HA; Heparin, HP) for 5 h, the total motility (TM), straight-line velocity (VSL), and curvilinear velocity (VCL) were higher in the HP- or HA-treated sperm, relative to control and CS- or DS-treated sperm. HP and HA treatments increased the levels of capacitated and acrosome-reacted sperm over time, compared to other treatment groups (p<0.05). In addition, sperm exposed to HP or HA for 1 h before IVF exhibited significantly improved fertilizing ability, as assessed by 2 pronucleus (PN) formation and cleavage rates at d 2. Exposure to these GAGs also enhanced in vitro embryo development rates and embryo quality, and increased the ICM and total blastocyst cell numbers at d 8 after IVF (p<0.05). A real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression levels of pluripotency (Oct 4), cell growth (Glut 5), and anti-apoptosis (Bax inhibitor) genes were significantly higher in embryos derived from HA- or HP-treated sperm than in control or other treatment groups, while pro-apoptotic gene expression (caspase-3) was significantly lower in all GAG treatment groups (p<0.05). These results demonstrated that exposure of bovine sperm to HP or HA positively correlates with in vitro fertilizing ability, in vitro embryo developmental potential, and embryonic gene expression.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.163-166
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between elapsed time after semen preservation on the changes of bacteria and semen quality. Semen was diluted with BTS(Beltsville Thawing Solution) extender without antibiotic for 7 days and sperm parameter and fertility were measured. Sperm motility was measured by CASA and total bacteria number was counted after 22~24 hr incubation from counting agar plate in which sperm dilute to $10{\sim}10^6$ in 0.9% saline solution and inoculate to agar. Acrosomal integrity was measured by Chlortetracycline (CTC) staining. CTC patterns were uniform fluorescence over the whole head (pattern F), characteristic of incapacitated acrosome-intact spermatozoa; fluorescence-free band in the post-acrosomal region (pattern B), characteristic of capacitated acrosome-intact spermatozoa; and almost no fluorescence over the whole head except for a thin band in the equatorial segment (pattern AR), characteristic of acrosome reacted spermatozoa. Total number of bacteria was significantly increased (p<0.0001) 3 days after preservation. Sperm motility, viability, and morphological abnormality on elapsed time after preservation were lower from 5 ($77.24{\pm}6.47$, p<0.001) and 7 days ($77.24{\pm}6.47$, p<0.001) after preservation compared to 1 ($15.71{\pm}7.18$) and 3 days($18.39{\pm}7.22$) after preservation, respectively. Sperm viability was significantly lower ($53.25{\pm}35.03$, p<0.0001) at 7 days after preservation. Morphological abnormality of sperm was lower (p<0.001) at 1 ($15.71{\pm}7.18$) and 3 ($18.39{\pm}7.22$) days compared to 5 ($21.84{\pm}7.91$) and 7 ($22.59{\pm}9.93$) days after preservation. Acrosomal integrity and capacitation rate (pattern F) were significantly lower (p<0.001) from 5 days after preservation. Based on the data we obtained from this study suggested that semen preserved more than 5 days without antibiotic would not recommend use for artificial insemination.