Does Coenzyme Q10 Exert Antioxidant Effect on Frozen Equine Sperm?
Abstract: During semen cryopreservation, the sensitivity of equine sperm to oxidative stress is increased by the eliminated seminal plasma. Thus, antioxidant addition to the semen extender can be helpful to the sperm survival after freezing and thawing. This work aimed to test whether coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) added in different concentrations to the INRA 82 freezing extender has antioxidant function on equine sperm to improve its fertilizing ability. Semen samples from five stallions were frozen with the extenders: (T1) INRA 82, control, (T2) T1+ 5 μM CoQ10, (T3) T1+ 25 μM CoQ10, and (T4) T1+ 50 μM CoQ10. After sample thawing, sperm motility and kinetics characteristics were evaluated using a computer-assisted sperm analysis and sperm membrane functionality and integrity were evaluated with a hypo-osmotic swelling test and an epifluorescence microscopy, respectively. The nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations of the semen samples were measured with spectrophotometry. There was no difference on the sperm characteristics among all treatments (P > .05). However, the 25 μM CoQ10 (T3) decreased NO2- concentration (6.7 ± 2.2 μM/μg protein) compared with the treatments T1, T2, and T4 (64.3 ± 3.7, 59.4 ± 5.3, 45.1 ± 8.6 μM/μg protein), respectively, as well H2O2 concentration (1.8 ± 0.3 μM/μg protein) compared with the control (4.6 ± 0.4 μM/μg protein) and 5 μM CoQ10 treatments (4.8 ± 0.2 μM/μg protein, P < .05). In conclusion, 25 μM CoQ10 plays a significant role as antioxidant to the frozen equine sperm, decreasing NO2- and H2O2 concentrations. Thus, its addition to the INRA 82 freezing extender may be beneficial to the fertilizing ability of equine semen.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-02-13 PubMed ID: 32303314DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102964Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The study investigates the impacts of adding coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) as antioxidant to horse sperm during cryopreservation to improve fertility. It concludes that 25 μM CoQ10 does demonstrate a significant antioxidant effect, specifically reducing nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations in frozen horse sperm.
Research Aim and Design
- This study was conducted to determine whether CoQ10, added in different concentrations to the INRA 82 freezing extender, functions as an antioxidant on horse sperm and improves its ability to fertilise.
- It employed sperm samples from five stallions. These samples were frozen using extenders with varying concentrations of added CoQ10 for comparison. The extenders were: (T1) INRA 82 – the control, (T2) T1 + 5 µM CoQ10, (T3) T1 + 25 µM CoQ10, and (T4) T1 + 50 µM CoQ10.
Analysis Procedures
- After freezing and thawing the samples, sperm motility and kinetics were evaluated through computer-assisted sperm analysis.
- The functionality and integrity of sperm membranes were evaluated using a hypo-osmotic swelling test and an epifluorescence microscope respectively.
- Nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations were measured with spectrophotometry to assess the oxidative stress on the sperm.
Results
- There were no notable differences in sperm characteristics (e.g., motility, membrane functionality and integrity) among all treatments.
- However, the treatment with 25 µM CoQ10 (T3) notably decreased the concentrations of both NO2- and H2O2 when compared with other treatments.
- The NO2- concentration was 6.7 ± 2.2 µM/µg protein in T3 treatment versus 64.3 ± 3.7, 59.4 ± 5.3, and 45.1 ± 8.6 µM/µg protein in T1, T2, and T4 treatments respectively. Similarly, T3 treatment displayed lower H2O2 concentration (1.8 ± 0.3 µM/µg protein) than control (4.6 ± 0.4 µM/µg protein) and T2 treatment (4.8 ± 0.2 µM/µg protein).
Conclusion
- The conclusion of the study is that 25 μM CoQ10 does function as an effective antioxidant for frozen horse sperm, specifically by reducing NO2- and H2O2 concentrations.
- The addition of this specific concentration of CoQ10 to the INRA 82 freezing extender may therefore enhance the fertilising capability of preserved horse sperm.
Cite This Article
APA
de Albuquerque Lagares M, Silva GCD, Cortes SF, Luz SB, de Resende AC, Alves NC, Wenceslau RR, Stahlberg R.
(2020).
Does Coenzyme Q10 Exert Antioxidant Effect on Frozen Equine Sperm?
J Equine Vet Sci, 88, 102964.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102964 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: mlagares@ufmg.br.
- Departamento de Farmacologia do Instituto de Ciências Biológicas da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Departamento de Farmacologia do Instituto de Ciências Biológicas da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
- Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária da Pontifícia Universidade Católica- PUC Minas, Betim, MG, Brazil.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antioxidants / pharmacology
- Freezing
- Horses
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Male
- Semen Preservation / veterinary
- Sperm Motility
- Spermatozoa
- Ubiquinone / analogs & derivatives
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Gardela J, Ruiz-Conca M, Palomares A, Olvera-Maneu S, García-Calvo L, López-Béjar M, Martínez-Pastor F, Álvarez-Rodríguez M. Effect of Honey, Coenzyme Q10, and β-Carotene/α-Tocopherol as Novel Additives in Rabbit-Sperm Cryopreservation Extender. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jul 24;13(14).
- Najafi A, Mehdipour M, Mohammadi H, Mehdipour Z, Khorrami B, Nazari M. Effect of tempol and straw size on rooster sperm quality and fertility after post-thawing. Sci Rep 2022 Jul 16;12(1):12192.
- Dong R, Luo L, Liu X, Yu G. Effects of riboflavin on boar sperm motility, sperm quality, enzyme activity and antioxidant status during cryopreservation. Vet Med Sci 2022 Jul;8(4):1509-1518.
- Oktanella Y, Mustofa I, An-Haru FAR, Putri DDM, Hendrawan VF, Susilowati S, Degu NY, Hernawati T. Conserving goat sperm post-thawed gene expression and cellular characteristics using the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 supplementation. Vet World 2024 Jul;17(7):1637-1647.
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