J. Jeong, S. Sa, H. Chung
May 1, 2018
Citations
0
Influential Citations
1
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Cryo letters
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cryopreserved semen is useful for animal breeding via artificial insemination (AI); however, the use of frozen-thawed boar sperm is limited due to cryodamage. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to improve post-thaw motility of boar semen by supplementing the thawing medium with a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, Zardaverine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thawed boar semen samples were treated with different concentrations of Zardaverine (0, 20, 50, 75, 100 µM) and the motility was evaluated using a computer-assisted sperm analyser. Toxic effects (sperm viability, DNA integrity, mitochondrial activity) were examined by eosin-nigrosin staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and MitoTracker. RESULTS Sperm motility values included curvilinear velocity, rectilinear speed, average value, linearity index, straightness index, and progressive motility. The kinetic values were significantly higher with the 50 uM Zardaverine supplementation compared to non-treated control. Furthermore, there were no toxic effects of the Zardaverine treatment. CONCLUSION The dual phosphodiesterase inhibitor (type 3/4) Zardaverine significantly enhanced the motility of thawed spermatozoa without adverse effects.