Journal of Andrology
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Published-Ahead-of-Print December 13, 2006, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.106.001594

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The response of bovine spermatozoa to bicarbonate and its use to assess the influence of oviductal epithelial proteins present during cryopreservation

Nilendran S. Prathalingam *, Paul F. Watson , Stuart G. Revell , Jennifer Busby , and William V. Holt

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: n.prathalingam{at}ncl.ac.uk.

The oviduct is a crucial organ for fertilisation and has been demonstrated to perform a variety of interactions with spermatozoa ranging from sperm storage, to stabilising sperm membranes and reducing free radicals. The oviduct is separated into two anatomically and physiologically distinct regions, the isthmus, where sperm are stored, and the ampulla where fertilisation occurs. We aimed to investigate whether proteins derived from different regions of the bovine oviduct had a beneficial effect on bovine sperm membrane integrity, osmotic resistance and motility following cryopreservation. The extent to which sperm motility could be activated by bicarbonate was demonstrated and used as a novel approach to post-thaw sperm assessment. While oviductal proteins did not increase the degree of post-thaw sperm viability, spermatozoa exposed to the isthmic proteins before freezing showed higher osmotic resistance after thawing. The presence of bicarbonate increased the proportion of spermatozoa with high curvilinear (VCL) and straight line velocity (VSL) in all treatment groups. After thawing, spermatozoa exposed to isthmic proteins had higher VCL and VSL than spermatozoa exposed to the ampullar proteins. We therefore conclude that proteins derived from the isthmus can stabilise and protect spermatozoa during cryopreservation.


Key words: Cryopreservation • Semen Analysis • Sperm • Motility • Oviduct • sperm-oviduct interactions






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