Perfil de antioxidantes e impacto del líquido folicular preovulatorio sobre el control de las especies reactivas de oxígeno (ROS) en espermatozoides de burro

Abstract

Assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs) subject sperm to stressful processes that can cause an

increase in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Because spermatozoa do not have

sufficient protection mechanisms to counteract an overproduction of ROS, they end up causing

damage to various structures and processes of spermatozoa, decreasing their fertilizing capacity.

The follicular fluid (FF) is responsible for providing the follicles with the ideal environment to

develop and mature properly. This fluid not only provides nutrients, hormones, and other factors

to follicles, but also protects them from oxidative stress.

Due to this, there is an interest in checking whether FF could also play this protection against

ROS in spermatozoa. This study aimed to determine the capacity of the preovulatory follicular

fluid (FFP) of jennies to regulate the oxidative stress of the spermatozoa of jackasses and,

therefore, to mitigate the damage it produces in various processes and structures of the

spermatozoa.

This study made use of nine ejaculates of three Catalan jackasses (three from each jackass) and

ten FFP samples of pre-ovulatory follicles of five Catalan jennies (two per jenny). Once the

samples were processed the semen samples underwent two treatments; the first consisted only

of TBM medium and the second of TBM medium supplemented with FFP at 20 %. Both

treatments were incubated for 0, 60, 70 and 120 minutes at a temperature of 38 ºC. In each time

200 µL of sample was extracted and subsequently divided into two aliquots: one of them was

used for the analysis of systematically computerized motility CASA and the other to evaluate

different parameters of seminal quality by flow cytometry.

In conclusion, this study describes for the first time the antioxidant profile, both enzymatic and

non-enzymatic antioxidants, of the Catalan jenny’s FFP. It has also been shown that exposure of

the spermatozoa to FFP, decreases the intracellular levels of ROS and provides protection

against negative effects of oxidative stress, improving viability and sperm motility. Effects that

would be related to the antioxidant capacity of FFP