Addition of Tempol in semen cryopreservation medium improves the post-thaw sperm function

Abstract

Despite extensive research carried out for optimization and commercialization of sperm cryopreservation media, percentage of motility and viability remain low following cryopreservation. These adverse effects have been partially ascribed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during cryopreservation. Therefore, we proposed that addition of a cell permeable antioxidant like Tempol, with superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic action, may overcome these effects in an optimized commercially available cryo-protective medium. Therefore, semen samples were cryopreserved in the presence or absence of Tempol. A concentration of 5 μM Tempol was defined as optimal since it significantly improved motility and viability post thawing and reduced DNA fragmented sperm. In addition, percentage of ROS positive sperm was reduced. These effects of Tempol can be attributed to cell permeability characteristic and ability to reduce superoxide production both at intra- and extra-cellular levels. Tempol may hold the potential for clinical applications.

The efficacy of antioxidants in sperm parameters and production of reactive oxygen species levels during the freeze‐thaw process: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…During full‐text screening, no common antioxidants were identified in nineteen articles (Asadmobini, Bakhtiari, Khaleghi, Esmaeili, & Mostafaei, ; Brugnon et al, ; Fontoura et al, ; Isachenko et al, ; Kotdawala et al, ; Lu et al, ; Meamar et al, ; Naeini, Bafrani, & Nikzad, ; Najafi et al, ; Oehninger, Duru, Srisombut, & Morshedi, ; Parameswari et al, ; Pariz & Hallak, ; Saeednia et al, ; Sbracia, Grasso, Sayme, Stronk, & Huszar, ; Sobhani, Eftekhaari, Shahrzad, Natami, & Fallahi, ; Taylor, Roberts, Sanders, & Burton, ; Vickram et al, ; Werner et al, ), twelve articles lacked common sperm parameters (Banihani, Agarwal, Sharma, & Bayachou, ; Branco, Garcez, Pasqualotto, Erdtman, & Salvador, ; Donnelly, McClure, & Lewis, ; Esteves, Spaine, & Cedenho, ; Gadea et al, ; Garcez et al, ; Garcez, Branco, Lara, Pasqualotto, & Salvador, ; Jenkins, Aston, & Carrell, ; Li, Lin, Liu, Xiao, & Liu, ; Minaei et al, ; Nabi et al, ; Shabani Nashtaei et al, ) and one article lacked sufficient data (Karimfar et al, ). Finally, 23 articles (Aliabadi, Jahanshahi, Talaei‐Khozani, & Banaei, ; Askari, Check, Peymer, & Bollendorf, ; Azadi, Tavalaee, Deemeh, Arbabian, & Nasr‐Esfahani, ; Bateni et al, ; Deng et al, ; Duru, Morshedi, Schuffner, & Oehninger, ; Esteves, Sharma, Thomas, & Agarwal, ; Ghorbani et al, ; Kalthur et al, ; Keshtgar, Iravanpour, Gharesi‐Fard, & Kazerooni, ; Martinez‐Soto, Dioshourcade, Gutiérrez‐Adán, Landeras, & Gadea, ; Merino et al, ; Moubasher, Din, Ali, El‐sherif, & Gaber, ; Najafi et al, ; Nekoonam, Nashtaei, Naji, Zangi, & Amidi, ; Rossi, Mazzilli, Delfino, & Dondero, ; Taylor et al, ; Thomson et al, ; Varghese et al, ; Wang, Sikka, Veeraragavan, Bell, & Hellstr...…”

“…Tempol has been considered to be a cell‐penetrating antioxidant, which scavenges superoxide anions and acts as an SOD mimetic agent. It promotes the transformation of to H 2 O 2 and decreases the generation of hydroxyl radicals, which have been identified as the most toxic agents via Fenton or Haber Weiss reactions at intra‐ and extracellular levels (Bateni et al, ). It is believed that this nonenzymatic antioxidant improves sperm viability by reducing superoxide anions and H 2 O 2 levels (Azadi et al, ).…”

“…It promotes the transformation of O − 2 to H 2 O 2 and decreases the generation of hydroxyl radicals, which have been identified as the F I G U R E 4 Subgroup meta-analysis of the effect of antioxidants on sperm viability. SMD: standard mean difference: CI: confidence interval most toxic agents via Fenton or Haber Weiss reactions at intra-and extracellular levels (Bateni et al, 2014). It is believed that this nonenzymatic antioxidant improves sperm viability by reducing superoxide anions and H 2 O 2 levels (Azadi et al, 2017).…”

Effects of negative pressure applied before storage (liquid storage, 17°C) on boar semen quality and fertilization ability

“…In recent years, several methods were proposed to increase the efficiency of cell preservation (Sonigo and Grynberg, 2014;Bateni et al, 2014). The effect of controlled stress on cell physiology has been widely studied, and there is strong evidence that 500 mBar negative pressure improves the quality of cryopreserved ram semen (Casali et al, 2014).…”

Effect of tempol on post-thaw semen parameters and fertility during chicken semen cryopreservation

“…Tempol (4-hydroxy2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl) is a low molecular weight cyclic nitroxide compound that has superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme mimetic activity. It has very good cell permeability and has been used in human and alpaca semen cryopreservation (Santiani et al 2013; Bateni et al 2014; Azadi et al 2017). To our knowledge there is no report on the use of tempol during chicken semen cryopreservation.…”