Preservation of semen from Kintamani Bali dogs by freezing method

The synergistic activity of fisetin on quercetin improves testicular recover in ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

This study examines a potential treatment for testicular ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury using fisetin (FIS) and quercetin (QUE) in a rat model. Male rats were divided into five groups: a control group, a torsion/detorsion (T/D) group, and three experimental groups treated with FIS, QUE, or a combination of FIS + QUE. Sperm parameters, oxidative stress markers, histopathological features, RT-PCR analysis of apoptotic and antiapoptotic gene expression, and fertility index were evaluated. The results demonstrated that FIS + QUE, FIS, and QUE significantly improved sperm motility and concentration, leading to a higher fertility index, than the reduced metrics in the T/D group. Additionally, levels of MDA and NO were significantly lowered, while CAT, SOD, GPx, and TAC levels increased in the FIS + QUE, FIS, and QUE groups. Histopathological, RT-PCR and fertility analyses also revealed evidence of apoptosis and testicular damage in the T/D group, shown by significant increases in P53, Bax, and caspase-3, along with marked decreases in AKT, PI3K, and Bcl-2. Treatment with FIS and QUE, particularly in combination, significantly improved outcomes, indicating a strong synergistic effect that helps repair damage and enhance reproductive function after T/D injury.

Protective effects of Mito-TEMPO on ischemia-reperfusion injury in a mouse testicular torsion and detorsion model

Testicular ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury during testicular torsion is strongly influenced by oxidative stress caused by excessive accumulation of unscavenged reactive oxygen species. This study aimed to investigate the effects of intra-peritoneal administration of Mito-TEMPO (MT) on I/R injury in testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D) in mice. Forty-two male mice were divided into seven groups including 1 control and 6 treatment groups (360° T/D, 720° T/D, 360° T/D + 0.70 mg kg-1 MT, 360° T/D + 1.00 mg kg-1 MT, 720° T/D + 0.70 mg kg-1 MT, and 720° T/D + 1.00 mg kg-1 MT). After inducing 360° and 720° clockwise testicular torsions for 2 hr, sperm parameters, apoptosis-related genes expression, and in vivo fertility index were evaluated. The results showed that 720° T/D can lead to increased abnormal sperm morphology, sperm DNA damage, and Bax expression, while the Bcl-2 expression was reduced compared to the other groups. In addition, it also had negative effects on sperm total and progressive motilities as well as viability and plasma membrane functionality (PMF). The results also showed that administration of MT to T/D mice can result in a reduction in abnormal sperm morphology, DNA damage, and Bax expression. It could also increase sperm total and progressive motilities, viability and PMF, Bcl-2 expression, and in vivo fertility index. Based on our results, it is concluded that MT, when administered after spermatic cord torsion in mice, provides significant protection against acute testicular T/D injury.

Effects of intratesticular injection of hypertonic mannitol and saline on the quality of donkey sperm, indicators of oxidative stress and testicular tissue pathology

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to examine donkey sperm quality after intratesticular injection of hypertonic mannitol (HM) and saline (HS).

METHODS

Randomly assigned to five treatment groups were 15 adult male donkeys: (1) Control group (no treatment), (2) Surgery group (surgical castration for testosterone control), (3) NS group (normal saline intratesticular injection), (4) HS group (hypertonic saline), and (5) HM group. We injected 20 mL per testicle. We took 5 mL blood from all donkeys before injection. Castration was performed under general anesthesia 60 days later. Samples included blood and testicular tissue. Total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM), movementy features, DNA damage, morphology, viability, and plasma membrane functionality were evaluated. Hormone analyses, histomorphometric studies and oxidative stress indices including total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and NADP+/NADPH were evaluated. Apoptosis, pyroptosis-related Bax, Caspase-1, GSDMD, and Bcl-2 expression were also assessed.

RESULTS

In HS and HM groups, testosterone, epididymal sperm count, motility, viability, and plasma membrane functionality dropped while sperm DNA damage increased. HS and HM groups had significantly lower histomorphometric parameters, TAC, GPx, SOD, GSH, and Bcl-2 gene expression. MDA, NADP+/NADPH, Bax, Caspase-1, and GSDMD gene expression were substantially higher in the HS and HM groups than in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Toxic effects of hypertonic saline and mannitol on reproductive parameters were seen following, hence, they might be considered as a good chemical sterilizing treatment in donkeys.

Evaluation of Chilled Dog Semen Extended With Sperm Activator

Within modern biotechnology, different tools and methodologies have been developed to maximize canine semen conservation protocol to optimize reproductive results. In the last decades, the survival of chilled semen has been prolonged from 2 to 3 days with the first basic diluents, to 10–14 days with the modern extenders. However, their main limitation is that sperm quality decreases during cold storage. Sperm activators (SA) have been produced to provide the molecules necessary to maximize the sperm survival and quality with the aim to enhance fertility and prolificacy. In this study, the effect of commercial extender SA (Theriosolution® Canine AI extender -Chile-) was recorded by daily evaluation of chilled semen for 14 days. In this experiment, sperm-rich ejaculate fraction was collected from six adult healthy Neapolitan Mastiff dogs. The semen evaluation started immediately after collection (d0), and after that a next generation extender was added (d0) for every 24 h from d1 (with and without SA) to d14, to determine spermatozoa progressive motility, velocity of forward progression (VFP), morphology, and integrity of the spermatic membrane. The initial sperm concentration of extended semen was 417.3 ± 170.4 x 106/mL (mean ± SEM) with 85.89 ± 4.76% of MNS (morphologically normal sperm), 84.47 ± 5.22 % live sperm, and pH of 6.2 ± 2.8. The initial VFP was 3.83 ± 0.48, but after 1 min with SA, it rises to 4.45 ± 0.45 (P < 0.001). The sperm progressive motility parameter increases significantly (P < 0.05) in experimental trial, respect to control, starting to d2 at finish (except for d7). The VFP analysis significantly increases in experimental trial (P < 0.05) during most days of the study with the exclusion of d3 and d14. To evaluate the seminal characteristics over time, the experiment was divided into T1 (d0–d5), T2 (d6–d10), and T3 (d11–d14) (P < 0.001) in evaluation of morphology and membrane functionality. The MNS reached 70% at d10 and finally 65% at d14, being considered normal and possibly fertile. With Host-s, 65% of MNS were also achieved at d14. The presence of glucose and fructose in the diluents used for refrigeration can exert very important effects given the fact that metabolic routes have been found in both sugars, providing both different and complementing effects. It can be concluded that the use of SA prior to artificial insemination improves the quality of chilled semen significantly, although it does not reverse the effects of deterioration due to cellular metabolism over time.

Addition of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in tris-based extender improves post-thaw quality and motion dynamics of dog spermatozoa

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction of different concentrations of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in a tris-based extender on semen quality parameters in post-thawed dog semen. Twenty-four ejaculates were collected from eight male Beagle dogs using an artificial vagina. Pooled semen was diluted with a tris-based extender supplemented with 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mM BHT, at a final concentration of 200 × 10⁶ spermatozoa/mL. After thawing, sperm samples were assessed for motility parameters (CASA), membrane integrity (SYBR-14/PI), acrosome integrity (FITC-PNA), mitochondrial activity (JC-1/PI), malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. The total motility, progressive motility, and average path velocity of the frozen-thawed sperm were significantly higher in the BHT1.5 group than in the control and the other sample groups (P < 0.05). Higher values of straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, amplitude of the lateral head displacement, and linearity were observed in the BHT1.0, BHT1.5, and BHT2.0 groups than in the control (P < 0.05). The BHT1.0 and BHT1.5 groups had higher percentages of straightness and acrosome integrity than the other groups (P < 0.05). Beat cross frequency, plasma membrane integrity, and GPx activity of the BHT1.5 and BHT2.0 groups were higher than those of the control (P < 0.05). A lower concentration of MDA was observed in the BHT1.0, BHT1.5, and BHT2.0 groups than in the control (BHT0) (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that 1.5 mM BHT is the optimal concentration for improving the post-thaw quality of canine spermatozoa.