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Selenium (Se) and vitamin E (Vit-E), as an integral part of antioxidant systems, play an important role in the motility and acrosome reaction (AR) of mammalian spermatozoa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Se and Vit-E on motility, viability, AR and accumulation of ammonia in the culture medium during different incubation periods in porcine sperm. Sperm samples were washed, swum-up and incubated at 37°C for 1 and 3 h in Sp-TALP medium supplemented with sodium selenite (SS), seleon l-methionine (SeMet) and Vit-E in the presence or absence of ammonia. Sperm motility was determined on the basis of movement quality examined by phase microscopy. Viability and AR of spermatozoa were assessed by Hoechst 33258 and chlortetracycline (CTC) staining technique, and accumulation of ammonia was measured by the indophenol method. The incorporation of 14C(U)-glucose was assessed with a liquid scintillation counter. In experiment 1, the sperm motility, viability, AR and incorporation of 14C(U)-glucose increased significantly (P

Purpose Differentiation of endometrial stromal cells into decidual cells occurs during embryo implantation and pregnancy. Recently, it has been reported that relaxin affects the decidualization of cultured human endometrial cells in vitro; however, there has been no study on the decidualization of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). The authors demonstrated artificially induced decidualization, and the effect of relaxin on decidualization in gerbils.

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of amino acids and their dipeptides in the medium related to the urea cycle on the motility, viability, acrosome reaction (AR) and accumulation of ammonia in the medium over different incubation periods in porcine spermatozoa and to assess the utilization of glucose. Porcine spermatozoa were washed, swim-up and incubated at 37°C for 0–4 h in mTALP medium supplemented with 75–600 μmol/L ammonia. Amino acids (1.0 mmol) or their dipeptides (2.0 mmol) were added individually to the mTALP medium containing either no ammonia or 300 μmol/L of ammonia. The viability and AR of porcine spermatozoa were assessed using the triple-staining technique and the accumulation of ammonia in the medium was measured using the indophenol method. The motility viability and AR were adversely affected (P < 0.05) by concentrations of ammonia ≥300 μmol/L compared with the control. Supplementation of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (AlaGln), L-glycyl-L-glutamine (GlyGln) and AlaGln + GlyGln in the presence of 300 μmol/L ammonia significantly increase (P < 0.05) the rate of motility, viability, AR, incorporation, accumulation of ammonia and oxidation of 14C(U)-glucose compared with the ammonia supplement control. AlaGln and GlyGln in mTALP medium were more stable and effective than the individual amino acids in reducing the accumulation of ammonia, and subsequently increasing the rate of AR and the utilization of glucose in porcine spermatozoa.

Aim: The present study was undertaken to determine which fatty acids improve motility, viability, and increase acrosome reaction (AR) in boar spermatozoa. Methods: Boar spermatozoa were washed, swum-up and incubated at 37°C for 4 h in TALP medium supplemented with myristic, palmitic, stearic, lignoceric, oleic, linoleic, arachidonic, docosahexaenoic and palmitoleic acid. Sperm motility, viability and AR were evaluated during 4 h of incubation. Results: Results show that oleic and linoleic acid significantly improved (P

Relaxin has an important role in stimulating motility and the acrosome reaction (AR) of fresh boar spermatozoa. The objective of the present study was to determine whether relaxin can improve the motility, AR and viability of cryopreserved boar spermatozoa. Cryopreserved boar spermatozoa were thawed, washed and incubated at 37°C for 4 h in modified Beltsville thawing solution supplemented with 0, 20 or 40 ng/mL relaxin. Sperm motility, AR, viability, and incorporation and oxidation of 14C-glucose were evaluated during 0–04 h of incubation. The results show that the supplementation of relaxin (especially at 20 ng/mL) in the thawing solution improved sperm motility significantly (P 0.05) improved by supplementation with relaxin. The rates of incorporation and oxidation of 14C-glucose were increased in correlation with AR up to 4 h of incubation. We conclude that relaxin can improve the sperm motility and AR, and enhance the glucose metabolism of cryopreserved boar spermatozoa.

An experiment was conducted to investigate pH, osmolality, and the concentration of ammonia, total protein, glutamine and glutamic acid in follicular fluid at different developmental stages (

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementing fructose in the culture medium on in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and metabolism of porcine oocytes.Porcine oocytes were matured in vitro in modified North Carolina State University 37 medium (NCSU-37) and then supplemented with either glucose (5.5 mM), fructose (5.5 mM), or glucose (2.75 mM) plus fructose (2.75 mM). The maturation and fertilization of oocytes, and the incorporation and oxidation ofThe supplementation of glucose plus fructose significantly promoted (Glucose plus fructose supplementation improved maturation, penetration by spermatozoa, male pronuclear formation, and energy metabolism by porcine oocytes.