Equid semen refers to the reproductive fluid produced by male horses, which contains sperm cells necessary for fertilization. The quality and viability of equid semen are important for successful breeding programs and can be influenced by various factors, including genetics, age, diet, and environmental conditions. Key parameters used to assess semen quality include volume, concentration, motility, and morphology of sperm cells. Techniques for collecting, evaluating, and preserving equid semen, such as cryopreservation, are critical for artificial insemination practices. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the physiology, assessment, and management of equid semen in the context of equine reproduction.
Pickett BW, Faulkner LC, Voss JL.Season had a pronounced effect upon seminal pH and refractometer 'protein', total carbohydrate, dry weight, total N2 and lactic acid in seminal plasma of first and second ejaculates. In addition, total seminal volume, spermatozoa per ml and per ejaculate, non-protein sulphhydryl and glycerylphosphorylcholine of second ejaculates were also influenced. There was a season difference in the concentrations of lactic acid in spermatozoa from first and in total N2 from spermatozoa in second ejaculates. The effects of season on seminal plasma were greater than those on spermatozoa. Spermatozoa in firs...
Sullivan JJ, Pickett BW.Approximately 1 week was required to stabilize the extragonadal sperm reserves in stallions ejaculated daily for 10 weeks. The true daily sperm output of a stallion was equal to the mean daily sperm output of seven ejaculates +/- 1-35 X 10(9) spermatozoa. Mean concentrations of spermatozoa/ml and number of spermatozoa/ejaculate were higher (P less than 0-01) for X1 and X3/week ejaculation frequencies than for a X6/week frequency. Sperm output/week was nearly identical for a X6/week frequency. Sperm output/week was nearly identical for the X3 and X6 frequencies and higher (P less than 0-01) tha...
Dott HM, Foster GC.Semen from boar, bull, ram, rabbit, reindeer and stallion was diluted in formol citrate or formol saline and stained with eosinnigrosin. The proportion of eosinophilic spermatozoa did not differ from that in fresh semen after storage for 48 hr in the formol diluent at temperatures ranging from 4 degrees C to 40 degrees C. Some samples were kept for periods up to 3 weeks with very little increase in the proportion of eosinophilic spermatozoa.
Swierstra EE, Gebauer MR, Pickett BW.The relationship between daily sperm productions (DSP) and daily sperm output (DSO) was determined in eleven stallions. The DSO was determined by collecting single ejaculates, with an artificial vagina, at 24-hr intervals. The stallions were killed 24 hr after the last collection and the DSP was determined by quantitative testicular histology. The mean DSP was 8-0 X 10(9) (S.E. +/- 0-4 X 10(9), and the mean DSO was 7-0 X 10(9) (S.E. +/- 0-4 X 10(9)). It was estimated that 87% of the spermatozoa produced by the testes were harvested. The correlation between DSP and DSO was 0-80 (P less than 0-0...
Merkt H, Klug E, Krause D, Bader H.Stallion semen frozen by the pellet method showed no significant loss of sperm motility and fertility over long periods of storage in liquid nitrogen. Eighteen of thirty mares conceived after insemination with semen recovered in nine ejaculates from seven stallions and stored for 18 months to 7 years.
Bielański W.Choice of the best methods for semen examination is dictated by the purpose of the examination, whether it be to assess the fertility of an individual stallion or to evaluate individual semen samples for routine purposes. In the author's experience of examining stallion semen, emphasis should be placed upon morphological examination, sperm cinematography and survival tests in vitro. Special problems concerning examination of frozen semen are discussed and the ultrastructure of spermatozoa frozen in the presence and absence of glycerol is described.
Mann T.Stallion semen has several chemical characteristics not commonly encountered in other animals. It contains very little fructose and the spermatozoa possess only limited fructolytic ability under anaerobic conditions. By determining some of the characteristic constituents such as ergothioneine, citric acid, glycerylphosphorylcholine and certain glycosidases, it is possible to obtain a quantitative measure of the secretory contribution of the ampulla, seminal vesicle and epididymis, respectively, towards the final composition of the whole ejaculate. By analysing separately the various fractions ...
Kosiniak K.The use of an 'open' artificial vagina made it possible to separate the individual jets in the ejaculate of the stallion. A total of 132 jets were collected in this way from twenty-one ejaculates. After macro- and microscopic examination and sperm counting, glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC), ergothioneine and fructose levels were determined for every jet. The values obtained for the first three jets were similar and accounted for about 76% of all spermatozoa, and 70% of GPC. These jets also contained the highest concentration of ergothioneine and fructose.
Swerczek TW.Small but significant numbers of primary and secondary spermatocytes and spermatids have been observed in the semen of some Thoroughbred stallions. Extensive histological examination of the testes of affected animals has not been undertaken but in one young stallion which died as the result of a leg injury, the premature dehiscence of these cells seemed to be related to segmental defects within the seminiferous tubules. The causes of lesions leading to premature shedding of germ cells are discussed.
Burns SJ, Simpson RB, Snell JR.Sterile equipment was used to collect ten ejaculates from each of ten normal stallions and quantitative and qualitative bacterial counts were made within 15 min after collection. The mean bacterial population in undiluted semen was found to be 573,000 +/- 374,000 organisms/ml. The bacterial content of semen diluted with two parts sterile physiological saline, or with two parts of a cream-gelatin extender, was measured within 15 min after collection and again after 2 hr at 25 degrees C. The number of bacteria was slightly increased in the saline after 2 hr, but 1 93% and 99% reduction occurred ...
Nishikawa Y.Retention of high motility of horse spermatozoa preserved at 4 degrees C was improved by a semen extender. Raw semen preserved for 2 to 8 hr at 4 degrees C gave an average conception rate of 67-3% but preservation for 1 to 2 days gave an extremely low conception rate. The conception rate from deep-frozen semen during 8 years was 56-3%.
Pace MM, Sullivan JJ.Fertilization rate was highest in mares inseminated with frozen semen within 12 hr of ovulation. Foaling rate was improved (P less than 0-05) by increasing the number of motile spermatozoa inseminated from 40 X 10(6) to 80 X 10(6) but was not further improved by increasing the number to 160 X 10(6) or by increasing the frequency of insemination from once to twice daily. The fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa frozen in one of the hydrogen ion extenders studied was dependent upon relative osmotic pressure and method of freezing (ampoules or pellets). Adjusting glycerol concentration from 7% to ...
Tischner M.Artificial insemination (A.I.) of mares in Poland has not yet been widely applied. Initial attempts were made by research groups between 1945 and 1955 but A.I. of mares was only introduced into the normal practice of A.I. Centres during 1964-67. Intensive research into methods for preserving stallion semen in liquid nitrogen has been undertaken since 1968. Of the total of 3734 mares artificially inseminated in Poland since 1945, 350 were inseminated with frozen semen. The slow progress of A.I. in horses is imputed to the small numbers of people involved in the work, to the conservation of the ...
Swierstra EE, Pickett BW, Gebauer MR.The cycle of the seminiferous epithelium was divided into eight stages on the basis of meiotic divisions, shape of the spermatid nuclei and location of the spermatids with elongated nuclei. Duration of this cycle was 12-2 days (S.E. +/- 0-1) as determined by [3H]thymidine injections and autoradiography. The life-span of primary spermatocytes was 19-0 days, secondary spermatocytes 0-7 days, spermatids with round nuclei 8-7 days, and spermatids with elongated nuclei 10-1 days. Labelled spermatozoa entered the caput epididymidis 35 days, and appeared in the ejaculate 39-9 days, after the isotope ...
ElWishy AB.The morphological changes which take place in the sperm during their passage
through the excurrent ducts have been studied in the bull (BRANTON and SALISBURY
1947; HANCOCK 1955; BAILY and SMITH 1958; AMANN and ALMQUIST 1962; GUSTAFSSON and CRABO 1971 ; RAO 1971) and boar (GUSTAFSSON, CRABO and EINARSSON 1970).
Such knowledge is of major importance in understanding the origin and significance
of the different sperm abnormalties as well as providing the basis for proper appraisal
of semen picture and devising useful spermiograms.
The aim of the present work is to study the morphological ch...
Pickett BW, Sullivan JJ, Byers WW, Pace MM, Remmenga EE.The effect of centrifugation of diluted and undiluted semen on equine and bovine spermatozoan motility and fertility was examined, as was the effect of seminal plasma and dilution on stallion spermatozoa during incubation before and after freezing. Centrifugation at 370 g or 829 g was not detrimental (P greater than 0.05) to prefreeze or postfreeze motility if a final concentration of 10% seminal plasma was present. A reduction of seminal plasma from 10% to 2% significantly (P smaller than 0.05) reduced motility. A centrifugal force of 956 g significantly reduced prefreeze but not postfreeze m...
Zhang JJ, Muzs LZ, Boyle MS.Three experiments were conducted to assess the structural and functional changes of stallion spermatozoa in response to the calcium ionophore A23187, and to determine individual variation between stallions. In Experiment 1, changes in the acrosome of spermatozoa exposed to 7.14 microM A23187 for fixed times between 0 and 120 min were examined. There was a steady increase with time in the number of spermatozoa undergoing the acrosome reaction although the rate of increase differed between stallions. Sperm motility decreased sharply when incubation was extended beyond 30 min. In Experiment 2, th...
McKinnon AO, Lacham-Kaplan O, Trounson AO.The use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for in vitro fertilization of equine oocytes and the developmental potential of these oocytes after transfer to the Fallopian tubes of synchronized mares were examined. Oocytes were aspirated from mature follicles 39 h after injection of a GnRH analogue and transported 190 km at 39 degrees C. Semen from a fertile and an infertile stallion was frozen and prepared for injection. Successfully injected oocytes were transferred surgically into the ampulla of the Fallopian tube either: (i) 4-8 h after semen injection; or (ii) after 24-48 h culture b...
Bize I, Driscoll DM.Preservation of stallion sperm forward motility was studied using a video recording system in semen diluted with media of different ionic strength and sodium content. After 8 hr of incubation at room temperature, semen diluted in a low ionic strength media containing sucrose displayed 65 +/- 9% motility with 68 +/- 3% of the motile sperm showing forward motility (diameter of head trajectory greater than or equal to 80 microns). In contrast, sperm populations diluted and incubated with a normal ionic strength media containing sodium had 56 +/- 7% motile sperm of which only 36 +/- 7% displayed f...
Ecot P, Vidament M, de Mornac A, Perigault K, Clément F, Palmer E.In the present study, the interactions among stallions, semen extenders and cooling treatments before stallion semen samples were frozen were studied. In Expt 1, the effects of four cooling treatments and three semen extenders were investigated (11 stallions x four split ejaculates), whereas in Expt 2, the effects of two semen extenders, two egg yolk concentrations and two glycerol concentrations were investigated (six stallions x five split ejaculates). Sperm motility after thawing was evaluated. In Expt 1, the extender x cooling treatment interaction was significant. Centrifugation and addit...
Yasine A, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Brantegem L, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris BM, Govaere J.Trypanosoma equiperdum (T. equiperdum) causes dourine, a venereally transmitted infection in horses. Purification of semen by single layer centrifugation (SLC) has been proven to be successful in reducing venereally transmitted diseases when dealing with other pathogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the purification of T. equiperdum spiked semen by SLC. Semen was spiked using cryopreserved T. equiperdum stabilates (Dodola strain isolate 943). In total, 6 concentrations, varying from 10 to >5 × 10 trypanosomes, were added to semen samples. Subsequently, SLC was performed ...
Dowsett KF, Pattie WA.Semen was collected from 222 stallions of 13 breed or colour types in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. A total of 648 collection attempts were made, using an artificial vagina, during 4 consecutive breeding seasons (1974/5 to 1977/8). Modifications were made to the techniques used by previous workers because collections were made at commercial studs using minimal animal restraint. Of all collection attempts, 621 (96%) were successful, while at least one semen sample was collected from each of 216 stallions (97%). There were no significant relationships between stallion collect...
Jakop U, Hensel B, Czirják GÁ, Quirino M, Schröter F, Jung M, Schulze M.During insemination, bacterial contamination of the ejaculate can lead to reduced sperm quality and transmission of pathogens to the female, thus should be avoided. The semen of a variety of animal taxa possess antimicrobial properties against a wide range of bacterial species through antimicrobial molecules, such as lysozyme, but their variance and the factors influencing it are unknown for most species. In this study, the antibacterial defence (bacterial killing activity (BKA) against Escherichia (E.) coli and Staphylococcus (S.) aureus as well as lysozyme concentration) was studied in semin...
Pinyopummin A, Mahasawangkul S, Kornkaewrat K, Rattanapirom S, Leartsang W, Kitkha S.The effects of seminal plasma (SP), derived from autologous, homologous and heterologous species (stallion, boar and dog) on chilled Asian elephant sperm quality, were determined. Semen was collected from eight males and samples with ≥30% motile spermatozoa were used in the study. Semen was diluted with Tris-glucose-egg yolk extender, supplemented with different SP types and preserved at 4°C for 48 hr. Experiment 1 (n = 31), showed that the presence of SP (autologous) helped to preserve sperm quality in terms of sperm motility and acrosome integrity (p < .05). Homologous SP did not ...
Schulman ML, Harper CK, Bell E, Nel A, Guthrie AJ.The aim of this study was to establish and validate a method to permit microsatellite analysis of DNA profiles obtained from frozen-thawed stallion sperm cells. This would provide reliable and accurate verification of the identification of a semen donor. Ejaculates from 5 pony stallions were collected, processed and frozen in 0.5 ml plastic straws. Aliquots of 100 microl of the frozen-thawed semen thus obtained were either placed directly, or diluted (1:10; 1:100; and 1:1000) and placed on slides of FTA paper. Similarly, blood samples obtained from each of the stallions were placed onto slides...
Klug E, Brinkhoff D, Flüge A, Scherbarth R, Essich G, Kienzler M.Practical experiences of the phantom method for collection of genital secretions from stallions are reported. Taking a phantom used in the Richard-Götze-Haus Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover as a prototype two further models slightly modified have been constructed, baring a flat hollow in the right side of the caudal phantom body for manual inserting of the Artificial Vagina. These three models fulfill four important conditions for routine use: (1) sufficient sexual attractivity for the stallions; 80-85% successful collections of presecretions out of a total of 1050 using the dummy and 70% ...
Lindsey AC, Bruemmer JE, Squires EL.Mares are generally inseminated with 500 million progressively motile fresh sperm and approximately 1 billion total sperms that have been cooled or frozen. Development of techniques for low dose insemination would allow one to increase the number of mares that could be bred, utilize stallions with poor semen quality, extend the use of frozen semen, breed mares with sexed semen and perhaps reduce the incidence of post-breeding endometritis. Three low dose insemination techniques that have been reported include: surgical oviductal insemination, deep uterine insemination and hysteroscopic insemin...
Torres-Boggino F, Sato K, Oka A, Kanno Y, Hochi S, Oguri N, Braun J.Seminal characteristics, fertility and the response to semen preservation (liquid storage and cryopreservation) were evaluated in 4 Draft stallions (Percheron 2, Breton 2). Seminal characteristics (gel-free volume, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, percentage of motile spermatozoa) were assessed in 5 ejaculates from each of the 4 stallions. The fertility of the stallions was calculated retrospectively as the accumulated pregnancy rate over 3 breeding seasons. Five ejaculates from each of the stallions were subjected to liquid storage at 5 degrees C. The percentage of motile spermatozoa (P...
Ferrer MS, Canisso IF, Podico G, Ellerbrock RE, Hurley DJ, Palomares R.Different stallions exhibit a high level of variation in the ability of their sperm to survive cryopreservation. A large fraction of stallions show poor post-thaw sperm motility, and their semen is not suitable for commercial freezing. In this study, we hypothesized that the presence of sperm-bound antisperm antibodies (ASAs) was associated with poor cryosurvival of stallion sperm. Our objective was to assess the level of ASA binding to stallion sperm, and determine if it was associated with good or poor sperm cryosurvival. In Experiment 1, cooled shipped semen from 27 stallions was frozen usi...
Braun J, Torres-Boggino F, Hochi S, Oguri N.The objective of this experiment was to examine the effect of seminal plasma on motion characteristics of epididymal and ejaculated equine spermatozoa during storage at 5 degrees C. Epididymal spermatozoa were flushed with either seminal plasma or a skim milk-glucose extender. Ejaculated spermatozoa were collected with extender added 10 minutes after semen collection and addition of extender during ejaculation by placing 50 ml extender in the collection bottle. Semen samples were centrifuged and resuspended with a skim milk-glucose extender containing seminal plasma (0, 5 and 25%; v/v), prepar...
Frazer GS, Bucci DM.The aims of this project were to document the protein profile of equine seminal plasma and determine the variability between stallions in the relative composition of proteins in the ejaculate. A single ejaculate was obtained from 14 stallions of varying breed and age. The gel fraction was removed by an in-line filter. The semen was centrifuged and the supernatant seminal plasma aspirated without disturbing the sperm pellet. The seminal plasma was recentrifuged and stored in cryovials at -70 degrees C. Samples were thawed, recentrifuged, assayed for protein concentration (BCA protein assay), di...
Parlevliet JM.The studies described in this thesis investigated the factors that can affect the fertility of stallions. The introduction describes the male gamete and the processes that occur during maturation of sperm and fertilization. Methods to evaluate the quality of sperm and ova are then discussed. Fertility can be expressed in various ways and is also affected by many factors such as the stallion, the mare and management factors. The fertility of stallions is usually assessed a good year after they have served mares, because then the number of foals is known. However, it would be preferable to be ab...
Sales FA, Ferreira-Silva JC, Vieira JI, Chaves MS, Caldas EL, Filho JP, Freitas VJ, Oliveira MA.Addition of extenders to thawed semen could improve fertility. Objective: To determine the efficiency of extenders to increase viability of thawed semen, measured by sperm parameters in vitro and pregnancy rates after artificial insemination (AI). Methods: Sperm motility and acrosin activity were measured during a thermoresistance test (TRT). Results: Progressive motility decreased (P<0.05) after 30 min in thawing semen treated with saline solution (SS) and only after 60 min with Tyrode's solution (TS) or freezing diluent (FD). The total motility decreased (P<0.05) after 60 min in thawed semen...
Gloria A, Carluccio A, Petrizzi L, Noto F, Contri A.Equine spermatozoa from the cauda epididymis were previously collected and frozen, and the fertility was assessed. Most studies were performed on healthy stallions that had undergone routine castration or on the epididymis collected at the abattoir, but there are no studies on the quality of epididymal semen in subjects which have died from colic or which underwent intensive care. The present study was designed to verify whether a severe illness could affect epididymal semen quality and freezability in the stallion. Therefore, epididymal semen characteristics during the freezing process in sta...
Evenson DP, Jost LK, Varner DD.Data from the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), a flow cytometric measurement of susceptibility of sperm nuclear DNA to denaturation, show strong correlation with the fertility potential of bulls, boars, men and stallions. Previous studies showed a strong relationship between stallion spermatozoa with denatured DNA and the presence of DNA strand breaks. In the present study, the relationship between stallion sperm DNA denaturation and the redox status of -SH groups on the cysteine residues of sperm nuclear protamines that are thought to stabilize chromatin was investigated. Semen samples...
Ruiz L, Echegaray A, Lafuente A.The aim of this study was the optimization of the sperm freezing protocols for the Pure Breed Andalusian Horse (AH) stallions. The study was performed in 84 ejaculates from 14 stallions (6 ejaculates per stallion). We examined the effect of individual stallion, centrifugal force and centrifugation extender on post-thaw sperm quality. Neither centrifugal force nor centrifugal extender had any significant effect on post-centrifugation or post-thawing sperm quality. Stallion was the principal source of variation in our experiments, showing individual significant differences (p < 0.05) in all para...
Cunha Dos Santos FC, Morrell JM, Nunes MM, Nogueira CE, Curcio BR, Malschitzky E.Epididymal sperm cryopreservation represents the ultimate option to preserve spermatozoa of valuable stallions. Objective: The study aims to evalute whether single layer centrifugation (SLC) prior to cryopreservation or after post-thawing improves the quality of stallion epididymal sperm. Methods: Epididymal sperms of stallions were harvested (N=20). Sperm samples were subjected to treatments: conventional centrifugation, SLC prior to cryopreservation (SLC-PC) or SLC post-thaw (SLC+). All samples were cryopreserved, thawed and evaluated. SLC+ were thawed, single layer cenrifuged and resuspende...
Guimarães T, Miranda C, Pinto M, Silva E, Damásio L, Costa AL, Correia MJ, Duarte JC, Cosinha C, Lopes G, Thompson G, Rocha A.A possible role of breeding activities in the composition of the microbial population in stallions' external genitalia (EG) and the relationship between micro-organisms colonizing the skin of the abdomen and the ones colonizing the EG have not been studied. In experiment 1, EG microbiological samples were collected from 41 stallions used for both natural cover and semen collection (BST) and from 18 non-breeding stallions (NBST). A higher (p < 0.05) frequency of isolation of potentially pathogenic species was found for BST. Age did not influence number of micro-organism species isolated both in...
Cavalero TMS, Segabinazzi LGTM, Scheeren VFDC, Freitas-Dell'Aqua CP, Papa FO.The present study compared the quality of sperm collected by artificial vagina or pharmacologically induced ejaculation from a 10-year-old thoroughbred stallion with seminal vesiculitis. The pharmacological protocol involved intravenous administration of detomidine (0.01 mg/kg) and oxytocin (20 IU) and successfully induced ejaculation in all attempts of semen collection. Sperm motility, plasma membrane and acrosome integrity (PMAI), reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) percentage, and bacterial profiles of fresh and cooled semen (5°C for 24 hr) were eval...
Nunes DB, Zorzatto JR, Costa e Silva EV, Zúccari CE.Five experiments tested the efficiency of a simple, low-cost system (CP) for cooling and storing equine semen at 2.0 degrees C for 24 h and 48 h. Pantaneiro stallions of known fertility were used. Semen quality was evaluated for progressive motility (PM), plasma membrane integrity (PMI), and pregnancy rate. Experiment 1 showed that PM and PMI were similar between CP and the control (Equitainer) in cooled semen. In Experiment 2, the influence was evaluated of combinations (four treatments) of two volumes (50/100 ml) and two sperm concentrations (500/750x10(6)) on sperm quality of semen cooled a...
Rath D, Leiding C, Klug E, Krebs HC.Ejaculates were collected at 3-day intervals before, during and after a washing procedure with chlorhexidine (2%). Semen motility and pathology were determined before and after deep-freezing. Blood samples were taken before and within 1 h after washing procedures and then extracted in ether. This was followed by HPL chromatography. Chlorhexidine concentrations in blood and seminal plasma were distinctly higher in the treated stallions than in control groups. Concentrations in the control groups were below the detection limit of the column. Significant correlations between decreasing semen qual...
Brom-de-Luna JG, Canesin HS, Wright G, Hinrichs K.Nuclear transfer using somatic cells from frozen semen (FzSC) would allow cloning of animals for which no other genetic material is available. Horses are one of the few species for which cloning is commercially feasible; despite this, there is no information available on the culture of equine FzSC. After preliminary trials on equine FzSC, recovered by density-gradient centrifugation, resulted in no growth, we hypothesized that sperm in the culture system negatively affected cell proliferation. Therefore, we evaluated culture of FzSC isolated using fluorescence-assisted cell sorting. In Exp. 1,...
Papin J, Stuhtmann G, Martinsson G, Sieme H, Lundeheim N, Ntallaris T, Morrell JM.Removal of seminal plasma facilitates stallion sperm survival during storage, but washing may damage sperm chromatin. Therefore, sperm quality was compared in samples following single-layer centrifugation (SLC) or sperm washing and controls (extension only) in two extenders, INRA82 and INRA96. Ejaculates from six stallions were split among six treatments: SLC, sperm washing, and controls, in INRA82 and INRA96. Sperm motility and acrosome status were evaluated at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours; morphology at 0, 24, 48, 72 hours and chromatin integrity at 0 and 96 hours, with storage at 6°C. Sperm ...
Köhne M, Kirch F, Tönissen A, Martinsson G, Rabe U, Sieme H, Schuberth HJ.To improve accuracy in evaluating stallion ejaculates, an antibody-based, flow cytometric assay for the detection and identification of leukocyte subpopulations (CD4-, CD8-, CD21-, CD172a-positive cells) in stallion semen (n = 12) was established. For establishment of the assay, native semen was supplemented with blood leukocytes (control: 20% leukocytes, 80% sperm cells) and analysed by flow cytometry. Adding antioxidants (ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluol) to semen immediately after collection inhibited rapid death of lymphoid cells in sperm leukocyte mixtures. In control set-ups...
Stelletta C, Alberti S, Cil B, Tekin K, Tirpan MB, Arganaraz M, Akcay E, Daskin A.The identification of various substances in seminal plasma has opened the way to study their functionality. It was aimed to identify the electrophoretic protein profile (EPP) and biochemical parameters (BP) of seminal plasma (SP) as predictors of semen quality and fertility in stallion. Forty-six ejaculates from 7 fertile stallions, aged between 6-26 years, were collected from May to July and 117 mares were used to obtain fertility data. For each ejaculate, volume, sperm motility, concentration were determined and seminal plasma samples were collected to perform one- -dimensional electrophores...
Fernández-Hernández P, García-Marín LJ, Bragado MJ, Domingo A, González-Fernández L, Macías-García B.In the horse, a repeatable protocol for in vitro fertilization has not been developed, possibly due to incomplete sperm capacitation. We have previously identified the metabolites present in equine oviductal fluid (OF). We aimed to test the effects of different metabolites found in equine oviductal fluid on quality parameters of frozen-thawed spermatozoa. Different concentrations of myoinositol (5-25 mM), lactate (6-60 mM), glycine (0.1-5 mM), β-alanine (1-6 mM), and histamine (0.05-0.4 mM) were added independently to modified Whitten's medium (pH = 7.25). Thawed equine spermatozoa (three s...
