• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2017

The present study was aimed to determine the effect of green tea extract (GTE) and beta-mercaptoethanol (${\beta}$-ME) supplementation in boar sperm freezing extender on sperm motility, viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Experimental groups were allocated into Lactose-egg yolk (LEY) without antioxidant (control), GTE (1,000 mg/L GTE in LEY) and ${\beta}$-ME ($50{\mu}M$ ${\beta}$-ME in LEY). Spermatozoa extended with LEY were cooled to $5^{\circ}C$ for 3 h and then kept at $5^{\circ}C$ for 30 min following dilution with LEY containing 9% glycerol and 1.5% Equex STM (final sperm concentration: $1{\times}10^8/mL$). Spermatozoa were loaded into straws and frozen in nitrogen vapor for 20 min. Following thawing at $37^{\circ}C$ for 25 sec, sperm viability and ROS level were measured using fluorescent double stain Fertility(R) and cytometry, respectively. Motility and viability of GTE supplemented-group were higher than those of control and ${\beta}$-ME without significance. ROS level in GTE group showed significantly lower than control (P < 0.05). In conclusion, GTE supplementation in boar sperm freezing extender can reduce ROS generation during freezing.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2022

The acrosome cap allows sperm to penetrate the egg membrane and produce male pronuclei within female chicken eggs, facilitating successful fertilization. Given this, it is important to establish practical methods for evaluating the integrity of the acrosome cap and thus the quality of the rooster's sperm. There are several established methods for evaluating the acrosomes of mammalian sperm, but none of these methods are suitable for evaluating the acrosome status of rooster spermatozoa. Therefore, a simplified method for evaluating the rooster acrosome is needed. Here we evaluated the usefulness of CBB (coomassie brilliant blue) staining of the acrosome at concentrations of 0.04%, 0.08%, and 0.3% CBB solutions. Our data revealed a clear staining pattern for intact acrosome caps at 0.04% and 0.08% CBB but not at 0.3% CBB. This protocol revealed differences in acrosome integrity between fresh and frozen rooster sperm smears suggesting that CBB staining may facilitate easier semen evaluation in roosters. This protocol allows for the accurate differential staining of acrosome cap in rooster spermatozoa.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.275-289
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• 2002

The objective of this study was to develop an in vitro assessment of sperm fertilizing capacity of bulls and investigate the factors influencing sperm function and characteristics of frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa. in vitro fertilization (IVF), the evaluation of motility and normal morphology, HOST (hypoosmotic swelling test), Ca-ionophore induced acrosome reaction, luminol and lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence for the measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the measurement of malondialdehyde formation for the analysis of lipid peroxidation (LPO), and the evaluation of DNA fragmentation using the method of 747-mediated nick end labelling (TUNEL) by flow cytometry were performed in frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa. Correlations between the rates of fertilization, blastocyst formation after IVF and the values of respective assays were investigated. 1. IVF rate and blastocyst formation rate averaged 64.4% and 34.3% for spermatozoa from high -fertility bull group and averaged 18.5% and 6.2% for spermatozoa from low-fertility bull group, respectively. There were significantly different between two bull groups. Sperm motility and percentage acrosome reaction averaged 79.0% and 66.2% for spermatozoa from high-fertility bull group and averaged 40.7% and 22.9% for spermatozoa from low-fertility bull group, respectivitely. There were not different between two bull groups. 2. Luminol depenent chemiluminescence, LPO and DNA fragementation averaged 6.4, 2.0 nmol and 2.6% from spermatozoa from high-fertility bull group and averaged 6.5, 3.1 nmol and 7.4% for spermatozoa from low-fertility bull group, respectively. There were significantly different between two bull groups. There was no significant difference in lucigenin dependent chemiluminescence between two bull groups. 3. Fertilization rate was positively correlated with motility and the rate of Ca-ionophore induced acrosome reaction, but negatively correlated with the frequency of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence, the rate of LPO, and the percentage of sperm with DNA fragmentation. There was no correlation between fertilization rate and the percentage of swollen spermatozoa, normal morphology, and the frequency of lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence. 4. Blastocyst formation rate was positively correlated with the rate of Ca-ionophore induced acrosome reaction, but negatively correlated with the frequency of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence, the rate of LPO, and the percentage of sperm with DNA fragmentation. There was no correlation between blastocyst formation rate and motility, the percentage of swollen spermatozoa, normal morphology, and the frequency of lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence. In conclusion, these data suggest that ROS significantly impact semen quality. The assays of this study may provide a basis fur improving in vitro assessment of sperm fertilizing capacity.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

Cryopreservation of germ cells from genetically proven animals could be a source of restoration tools from the risk of extinction or disappearance of wanted characteristics. Using frozen semen, the genetic gains of Korean native cattle have been increased greatly for 70 years. The preservation of genetic resources as a form of frozen semen straw has limited availability due to the numbers. To circumvent this weakness of frozen semen, we tested two re-freezing methods with different initial thawing temperatures using frozen Korean proven semen and rare breed semen from albino, black and chikso breeders. It has been known that human sperm could resist to cryo-damages by repeated freeze-thaw cycles, but not for Korean proven bulls number (KPN) or for rare breeds. Total 7 frozen semem from brindled(2), black(1), Korean Albino(2) and KPN(1) bulls were used for our research. After thawing straws under $5^{\circ}C/2min$ or $37^{\circ}C/40sec$ with low temperature water bath and thermo jug, spermatozoa were re-diluted with triladyl diluents after first thawing and re-frozen. Sperm motilities were compared between animals and treated groups after re-thawing. Mean values of motility and viability of refrozen/thawed sperm for expansion of the number of straws were significantly higher in $5^{\circ}C$ than in $37^{\circ}C$ (P < 0.05). However, the activity of viable sperm thawed at $5^{\circ}C$ was significantly decreased before refreezing. It is estimated that re-freezing of frozen semen from rare Korean native cattle is possible with resistant properties of survived spermatozoa.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2002.06a
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• pp.74-74
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• 2002

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of β-mercaptoethanol on lipid peroxidation and fertilization ability in vitro by xanthine (X)-xanthine oxidase (XO) system in boar spermatozoa frozen-thawed. When spermatozoa were inseminated in medium with X and/or XO, the penetration rates in all conditions were higher in medium with that than without β-mercaptoethanol. However, significant differences were not observed between medium with and without β-mercaptoethanol. The lipid peroxidation of sperm was evaluated on the basis of malondialdehyde (MDA) production. (omitted)

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 1999

Boar semen can be frozen successfully. However, there is a large variability in the extent of damage boar semen samples experiences during cryopreservation. This experiment was undertaken to find out factors that affect a post-thaw viability of boar spermatozoa. For this purpose, cryodiluents(BF5, LEY, Soejima and M-Soejima), cryoprotectants(glycerol. ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol), pre-freezing method(dryice-pellet, dryice-straw and L$N_2$vapour-st-raw) and total time required for freezing(2. 5, and 7 h) were compared as a factors. To investigate quality of semen during freezing process, motility(%), normal apical ridges(%, NAR), and proportion of living sperm(%) by flow cytometic analysis were assessed after collection, cooled, pre-frozen and post-thawing. Post-thaw motility of semen diluted with M-Soejima was 52.0%, respectively. When heparin, caffeine or heparin＋caffeine was added to 2nd cryodiluent of M-Soejima during freezing process, the highest motility after thawing was shown at the addition of caffeine (2mM), with 61.7$\pm$2.9% of motility. M-Soejima with heparin or caffeine was significantly higher than that of controI(p＜0.05). The result using glycerol(Gly), ethylene glycol(EG), propylene glycol(PG), and their mixture (Gly＋EG and Gly＋PG) as cryoprotectants, the highest motility was shown at the mixture treatment with Gly plus PG. However, the highest proportion of live spermatozoa was shown at Gly＋EG, there was no significantly difference among treatments(p＞0.05). When semen was pre-frozen with three manners(dryice-pellet, dryice-straw, and L$N_2$ vapor-straw), motility(%) of post-thaw spermatozoa was the highest in the L$N_2$ vapor-straw pre-freezing method of M-Soejima cryodiluent with 57.5% of motility, For a simple, economical and timesaving approach to freezing boar semen, total time required for freezing were 2, 5, and 7 hours, post-thaw motility were 43.8, 45.0 and 38.8%, NAR were 19.5, 22.7 and 28.5%, and viability were 20.8, 19.9 and 22.1%, respectively. This data suggests that boar semen diluted with M-Soejima cryodiluent contained caffeine, using mixture of glycerol and propylene glycol or ethylene glycol as cryoprotectants, frozen with 2 hours, can be taken better motility, NAR, and proportion of live spermatozoa.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 2010

This studies were conducted to investigate the survival rate of frozen-thawed spermatozoa of Jindo Dog by monosaccharide and freezing rates. Experimental animals were prepared 12 males within 1~8 year's old and collected once in a couple of weeks by digital manuplation methods. Collected semen was diluted 1:1 with Tris-egg yolk extender and added 4, 6 or 8% of glycerol and none, 4 mM glucose or 4 mM fructose as cryoprotectant and was equilibrated for 2 hrs in $4^{\circ}C$. In monosaccharide groups, the freezing rate was 5 cm-5 min. above $LN_2$. The survival rates without monosaccharide were $50.7{\pm}19.0%$, $58.6{\pm}18.0%$, $40.0{\pm}10.0%$ in 4, 6 or 8% glycerol, respectively. In addition of glucose, the survival rates were $43.1{\pm}14.7%$, $38.1{\pm}16.5%$, $33.3{\pm}4.0%$ in 4, 6 or 8% glycerol, respectively and in fructose, were $47.9{\pm}21.1%$, $61.3{\pm}6.2%$, $34.3{\pm}12.6%$ in 4, 6 or 8% glycerol, respectively. There showed significantly different between glycerol groups and monosaccharides groups (p<0.05). The survival rates of freezing rate in 5 cm-5 min. group was $64.5{\pm}15.8%$, $51.9{\pm}27.6%$, $29.7{\pm}24.8%$ and in 10 cm-10 min. group was $62.5{\pm}20.3%$, $64.9{\pm}23.6%$, $34.5{\pm}27.4%$ in 4, 6 or 8% glycerol, respectively. There were significantly different between freezing rates (p<0.05). These results suggest that the addition of fructose with 6%-glycerol and slow freezing improve the survival of frozen-thawed sperm in Jindo Dog.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2002

The objective of this study was to determine the developmental competence of in vitro matured oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI) with epididymal spermatozoa. The ovaries were obtained from slaughtered small species dogs. Oocytes matured in vitro for 24 hrs were fertilized by ICSI with epididymal spermatozoa. After ICSI, one group of oocytes was activated with 2.0 mM dimethylaminopurine or 7% ethanol for 5 min. and second group was not activated. The follicular oocytes were cultured in synthetic oviductal fluid(SOF) and TCM-199 medium containing hormones and 10% FCS for 24~48 hrs in a incubator with 5% $CO_2$ in air at 38.5$^{\circ}C$. 1. Results of IVM showed that the percentage of oocytes reaching MII after 24 h and 48 hrs of incubation were significantly higher(p<0.05) after culture with 48 hrs(9/30, 30.0%) than that after culture with 24hrs(a/30, 26.7%). 2. Results of IVM showed that the percentage of oocytes reaching MII after 48 hrs of incubation were significantly higher(p<0.05) after culture with SOF media(10/30, 30.3%) than TCM-199 media (7/30, 23.3%). 3. The rate of cleavaged embryos to blastocyst obtained by ICSI treated activation oocytes was significantly higher(p<0.05) than that of nonactivation oocytes(5/16, 25.0% vs 1/13, 5.0%). 4. The rates of development of cleavaged embryos to blastocyst obtained by ICSI treated sperm of fresh, epididymal and frozen-thawed epididymal were 8/18(44.43%), 5/16(31.3%), 2/14(14.3%), respectively. and these values of frozen-thawed epididymal sperm injection were lower than fresh sperm injection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1247-1255
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• 2016

Heparin binding proteins (HBPs) are produced by accessory glands. These are secreted into the seminal fluid, bind to the spermatozoa at the time of ejaculation, favour capacitation, acrosome reaction, and alter the immune system response toward the sperm. The present study was conducted with an objective to assess the effect of purified seminal plasma-HBPs (SP-HBPs) on cross bred cattle bull sperm attributes during two phases of cryopreservation: Pre freezing and freezing-thawing. SP-HBPs were purified from pooled seminal plasma by heparin affinity chromatography. Three doses of SP-HBPs i.e. 10, 20, $40{\mu}g/mLs$ semen were standardized to find out the optimum dose and $20{\mu}g/mLs$ was found to be an optimum dose. Semen as such and treated with SP-HBPs was diluted with sodium citrate-egg yolk diluter and cryopreserved as per the standard protocol. Sperm parameters i.e. motility, viability, Hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), acrosome damage, in vitro capacitation and lipid peroxidation were evaluated in SP-HBP treated and untreated (control) semen at both phases of cryopreservation. A considerable variation in percent sperm motility, viability, membrane integrity (HOST), acrosome damage, acrosome reaction and lipid peroxidation was observed at both phases among the bulls irrespective of the treatment. Incubation of neat semen with $20{\mu}g/mL$ SP-HBP before processing for cryopreservation enhanced the average motility, viability, membrane integrity by 7.2%, 1.5%, 7.9%, and 5.6%, 6.6%, 7.4% in pre-frozen and frozen-thawed semen in comparison to control. There was also an average increase of 4.1%/3.9% in in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction in SP-HBPs-treated frozen-thawed semen as compared to control. However, binding of SP-HBPs to the sperm declined acrosome damage and lipid peroxidation by 1.3%/4.1% and 22.1/$32.7{\mu}M$/$10^9$ spermatozoa in SP-HBP treated pre-frozen/frozen-thawed semen as compared to control, respectively. Significant (p<0.05) effects were observed only in motility, HOST and in vitro acrosome reaction. It can be concluded that treatment of neat semen with SP-HBPs before cryopreservation minimized the cryoinjury by decreasing the generation of reactive oxygen species.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.92-92
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• 2002

Considerable attention has been focused on the cryopreservation of semen and estrus induction in dog, as consequence of poor productivity caused by long anestrus period, in order to enhance the productivity of youngs and to preserve the breeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate semen quality after cryopreservation and to evaluate the Pregnancy rate after insemination (AI). Fifty infertilie dogs (age 2∼3 years) were selected for the study and divided into three different estrus induction treatment groups. Group 1: dogs (n=15) were given clomifene (0.1 mg/kg) orally for five days at 12 hr intervals. Group 2: dogs (n=15) were given bromocriptine (50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/kg) orally for five days at 12 hr intervals, followed by single injection intravenously of 500 IU GnRH (Group 3, n=20) when pro-estrus occurred. The rates of pregnancy in estrus inducted dogs mated naturally compared to those inseminated artificially with ejaculated fresh semen and frozen-thawed semen. Estrus detection was performed using the method of vaginal smear and confirmed by the plasma progesterone assay. The ejaculated semen to freeze was exposed to a mixture of Tris extender with cryoprotectant (Trisma, 81 mM: TES, 209 mM: citric acid, 6 mM; glucose, 5 mM; glycerol, 8%) and cryopreserved gradually by slow-cooling at 17 cm above the surface of liquid nitrogen (LN$_2$) for 23 min. The motility of frozen-thawed spermatozoa was assessed by phase-contrast microscopy. To assess their viability and acrosome content, spermatozoa were stained with a vital stain and Fluorescence conjugated lectin Pisum Savitum Agglutinin (FITC/PAS), respectively. Pregnancy was confirmed by ultrasonograpy on day 25, 35 and 55 post insemination. The use of fresh semen, the pregnancy rates were observed 66.6, 66.6, 75.0 and 83.3% in natural estrus, clomifene induced, bromocriptine induced and a combination of GnRH and bromocriptine, respectively. The use of frozen-thawed semen, the pregnancy rates were observed 66.6, 33.3, 50.0 and 60.0% in natural estrus, clomifene induced, bromocriptine induced and a combination of GnRH and bromocriptine, respectively. No difference was observed in the number of offspring produced among natural estrus and treated groups inseminated with fresh or frozen-thawed semen. In conclusion, the pregnancy rate of dogs treated with a combination of GnRH and bromocriptine was more effective than use of clomifene or bromocriptine only. In addition, frozen-thawed semen can be used successfully far artificial insemination in dog.