Cysteine addition on short-term cooled boar semen preservation and its relationship with swine field fertility

Abstract

Artificial insemination is routinely used in the swine industry to reduce the costs of production through to increase the efficiency of the refrigerated boar semen process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different levels of cysteine (CYS) added to the Beltsville Thawing Solution (BTS) extender semen during cooling for up to 72 hours. Ejaculated from three boars were collected with the gloved-hand technique and semen aliquots were diluted in BTS as follow: BTS only (BTS), BTS + 0.1mM cysteine (CYS0.1), BTS + 0.5mM cysteine (CYS0.5), BTS + 1.0mM cysteine (CYS1.0), BTS + 2.5mM cysteine (CYS2.5), BTS + 5.0mM cysteine (CYS5.0), BTS + 10.0mM cysteine (CYS10.0), and BTS + 20.0mM cysteine (CYS20.0). Evaluation of sperm integrity were analyzed using 0.5mg/ml propidium iodide (plasma membrane), 100µg/ml isothiocynate-conjugated Pisum sativun agglutinin (acrosomal membrane) and 153µM 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolyl carbocyanine iodide (mitochondria potential) after semen dilution at specific times (0, 24, 48 and 72 hours). Additionally, we also evaluated the effects of 5.0 mM CYS addition in the BTS extender on the maintenance of sperm quality and their influence on fertility in the swine production. After artificial insemination, animals were evaluated based on the estrous return and the number of piglet's born. Cysteine at concentrations of 10.0 and 20.0mM resulted in more pronounced reductions even at the time zero. Semen viability decreased to levels below 10% at these high levels of CYS in the first 24 hour of storage at 17ºC. At the end of the storage time, less than 65% of sperm cells had intact plasma membrane in all groups. The sperm viability decreased significantly when the semen was added at high concentrations of CYS (time "0"; CYS10.0 and CYS20.0; p<0.05), when compared to the other CYS concentrations. The BTS (10.20±0.39) treated group showed a lower rate of estrus return when compared to other (BTSCYS; 86.05±039), and it showed also the highest total number of piglets borne per treatment (12.71±3.38 vs. 9.00±3.38, respectively). In conclusion, the addition of CYS in the BTS semen extender did not maintain spermatic viability of boar cooled spermatozoa and it results in a higher percentage of return to estrus and lower number of piglets borne.

Resveratrol Improves Boar Sperm Quality via 5′AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Activation during Cryopreservation

“…This technique involves some physiochemical procedures including cooling, freezing, and thawing, which are known to produce excess ROS through an alteration in the sperm physical or chemical conditions that impair the homeostasis of sperm metabolism [1]. The removal of seminal plasma during the cryopreservation process is reported to reduce the antioxidant defenses in sperm [2–4], and thus, sperm becomes vulnerable to the oxidative stress [5]. Boar sperm plasma membrane is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids with low cholesterol or phospholipid that are susceptible to lipid peroxidation by ROS attack in vitro [6].…”

Morphological and morphometric evaluation of prepubertal gilt ovaries, uterine tubes and uterus at different oestrus cycle stages

“…In pig farming, the artificial insemination is a widespread technique used to reduce production costs and to achieve a better use of the male gametes into porcine (Severo et al 2011). Furthermore, in order to achieve high productivity indices (weaned piglets), the gilts should be prepared for insemination and thus, making an efficient use of the pregnancy and parturition installations, and also being prepared to replace the slaughtered sows (Stančić et al 2012).…”

A triple stain method in conjunction with an in-depth screening of cryopreservation effects on post-thaw sperm in dogs

“…Therefore, the triple stain allows systematic use as an effective method to evaluate canine sperm and, ultimately, identify male fertilization potential. The triple stain is easy to use, because it simultaneously shows damage at the level of the plasma membrane, acrosome and the potential of the inner mitochondrial membrane [27,7,28]. Thus, the triple stain can be a promising technique to select stud dogs with high fertility potential and evaluate the sperm quality after cryopreservation in routine assisted reproductive technologies (i.e.…”