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An obituary for professor of most of the andrologists in Latin America Juan Eduardo Bustos-Obregón is presented.

Fatty acids are important in male reproductive function because they are associated with membrane fluidity, acrosome reaction, sperm motility and viability, but limited information exists about the fatty acid profile of ram semen. Our aim was to determine the fatty acid composition in ram spermatozoa and seminal plasma. Sixty ejaculates were obtained from three ram (20 ejaculates/ram) using artificial vagina. Ram spermatozoa ( RS) and seminal plasma ( SP) were separated using centrifugation, and the fatty acids were analysed by gas chromatography. Total lipids obtained in ram spermatozoa were 1.8% and 1.6% in seminal plasma. Saturated fatty acid ( SFA) was proportionally major in SP (66.6%) that RS (49.9%). The highest proportions of SFA corresponded to C4:0 ( RS = 16.3% and SP = 28.8%) and C16:0 ( RS = 16.3% and PS = 20%). The most important unsaturated fatty acid ( UFA) was docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA), 44.9% in RS and 31.5% in SP. The profile of fatty acid and their proportions showed differences between spermatozoa and seminal plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seminal plasma contains various biochemical components associated with sperm function. However, there is limited information regarding the fatty acid composition of seminal plasma and their effect on sperm. The aim of this study was to identify the fatty acid content in canine seminal plasma using gas chromatography. Twelve ejaculates were studied, the seminal plasma was obtained by centrifugation and then the lipids were extracted, methylated and analysed by chromatography. The total lipids in the seminal plasma were 2.5 ± 0.3%, corresponding to 85% saturated fatty acids ( SFA) and 15% unsaturated fatty acids ( UFA). The greatest proportions of SFA were palmitic acid (30.4%), stearic acid (23.4%) and myristic acid (5.3%) and of UFA oleic acid (9.0%). Therefore, the protocols and techniques used enabled the identification of 18 different fatty acids in canine seminal plasma, which constitutes a good method to evaluate and quantify the fatty acid profile in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human semen is composed of a heterogeneous population of spermatozoa with varying degrees of structural and functional differentiation and normality, which result in subpopulations of different quality. Using a discontinuous Percoll gradient, we separated three subsets of spermatozoa (65/45%, 90/65% and 90% fractions) from normozoospermic semen samples from healthy donors and proceeded to characterise their morphology, viability, motility and proteasome activity. In addition, the presence of proteasome subunit transcripts was investigated using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results obtained showed significant differences in sperm motility, viability and morphology between the cells collected from each of the fractions. In particular, normal sperm morphology was 4.5 times higher in the 90% pellet in comparison with the 65/45% interface. In addition, there were significant differences in proteasomal activity between spermatozoa recovered from the 90% pellet and spermatozoa recovered from the 65/45% interface. Finally, there was a positive correlation between sperm proteasomal enzymatic activity and sperm motility and normal morphology after separation by a discontinuous Percoll gradient. The results of the RT-PCR revealed the presence of transcripts for the proteasome subunits β1, β2 and β5 in the human spermatozoa analysed. In conclusion, poor quality spermatozoa isolated from a Percoll gradient display an intrinsic proteasome activity deficiency, which may be associated with their low fertilising potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]